cleanup · Chautauqua County
Dunkirk Former Manufactured-Gas Plant
Dunkirk
Former three-acre gasworks at 31 West Second Street that operated from the late 1800s to about 1910. Investigation documented a source area and affected groundwater extending beyond the property. DEC classifies the cleanup program as active and incomplete.
The documented story
What happened here?
The Dunkirk manufactured-gas plant occupied roughly three acres at 31 West Second Street and operated from the late 1800s until about 1910. Historic mapping shows three gas holders and supporting gasworks structures.
The property later became a National Fuel service center. It lies in a mixed commercial and residential area approximately 600 feet south of Lake Erie.
A three-acre gasworks left a groundwater question beyond its fence
Dunkirk's manufactured-gas plant vanished around 1910, but its source area remained
3 acresapproximately, within the former gasworks property
Late 1800s-about 1910
Manufactured gas supplied Dunkirk before the modern gas system
Three holders and production structures occupied the property. Coal-gas manufacturing generated tar and volatile compounds that could persist after demolition.
2010-2020
Investigation followed the source from soil into two groundwater settings
Characterization found a northeastern source area and groundwater effects beyond the property. Later bedrock wells evaluated benzene and hydraulic connections between shallow material and bedrock.
Current program
The remedy is not yet a completed chapter
DEC continues on- and off-property investigation under an active, incomplete program. Future remedy selection must address the documented source and groundwater extent.
Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Chronology
Timeline
- Late 1800s–about 1910
The plant manufactured and stored gas for the Dunkirk area.
- 2010–2012
Site-characterization work identified former structures, a source area, and affected groundwater.
- 2013–2016
A remedial investigation expanded the on- and off-property evaluation.
- 2019–2020
Additional bedrock wells evaluated benzene in groundwater and the connection between overburden and bedrock.
- Current program
DEC continues to classify the site as Class A, meaning the non-registry cleanup program remains active and incomplete.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- MGP-related soil contamination was identified around a former structure in the northeastern source area.
- Affected groundwater was documented moving northeast beyond the property.
- Benzene and other volatile compounds prompted additional bedrock-groundwater investigation.
- The site's position south of Lake Erie makes groundwater direction and off-property extent important parts of the investigation.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The investigation installed soil borings and monitoring wells on and beyond the former plant property.
- Bedrock wells were added to evaluate dissolved contamination and vertical hydraulic connections.
- DEC's Class A designation means investigation or remediation is underway and has not been reclassified as complete.
Then and now
The site today
Dunkirk remains an active MGP program rather than a completed cleanup. The Atlas reports documented migration and investigation without assuming that Lake Erie or every intervening property is contaminated.
Atlas connections
Connected places
These collections explain documented material, facility, waterway, ownership, or cleanup relationships. Inclusion does not imply that every place shares one contaminant source or plume.
Manufactured-gas plant network
These sites share a historic gas-manufacturing system and recurring contaminant profile. Their classifications range from active cleanup to completed management and preliminary investigation; they are a comparative network, not one connected plume.
The former Buffalo Service Station / Blue Cross–HealthNow property is a completed cleanup and redevelopment example.
Managed remedy and active creek investigationIroquois Gas / Westwood PharmaceuticalThe former Iroquois Gas source area and lower Scajaquada Creek show how coal tar can require both constructed controls and continuing downstream investigation.
Class 4 Tonawanda siteGastown Former Manufactured-Gas PlantThe Gastown record shows how the same industrial system appeared in the City of Tonawanda.
Active Lockport programTransit Street Former Manufactured-Gas PlantTransit Street extends the comparative MGP record to Lockport.
Completed West Seneca cleanupMineral Springs Road Former Manufactured-Gas PlantMineral Springs Road documents another separately bounded former gas-manufacturing property.
Gas-holder propertyBuffalo Gas Light Gas Holder / 31 Tonawanda StreetThe Tonawanda Street holder site represents storage infrastructure within the historic manufactured-gas system.
Class 2 State Superfund siteJamestown Former Manufactured-Gas PlantJamestown is an action-required site with documented coal-tar liquid and possible migration toward the Chadakoin River.
Active Dunkirk programDunkirk Former Manufactured-Gas PlantDunkirk remains under active investigation and cleanup review, including off-property and bedrock groundwater work.
Potential Niagara Falls siteNiagara Falls Former Manufactured-Gas PlantHistoric maps establish the gasworks near the Rainbow Bridge area, while DEC's Class P status preserves uncertainty about current cleanup needs.
Potential Salamanca gas propertySalamanca Former Gas PropertyThe Salamanca record documents gas purification and distribution history but does not yet establish on-site manufactured-gas production or a required remedy.
Dunkirk industrial cleanup and redevelopment
Steel, alloy, locomotive, petroleum, manufactured-gas, and other industrial properties form a layered Dunkirk cleanup history. Each marker represents its own official record.
Niagara Motors documents drums, petroleum and lead-affected soil on a former industrial property.
Locomotive and steel-reclamation propertyRoblin SteelRoblin occupies part of the former American Locomotive industrial landscape.
Large specialty-steel cleanupAlTech Specialty SteelAlTech represents a century-scale manufacturing and phased-remediation property.
Active alloy facility cleanupSpecial MetalsSpecial Metals is a defined cleanup area within an active manufacturing property.
Manufactured-gas plantDunkirk Former Manufactured-Gas PlantThe former gasworks adds a coal-tar and groundwater cleanup near Dunkirk's downtown industrial waterfront.