cleanup · Erie County
Gastown Former Manufactured-Gas Plant
City of Tonawanda
Former manufactured-gas plant at 126 East Niagara Street where coal-tar liquid and contaminated groundwater affected the property and nearby basement sumps. DEC classifies the closed site as Class 4 because recovery, monitoring, and continuing site management remain necessary.
The documented story
What happened here?
The Gastown property at 126 East Niagara Street was operated by a succession of gas utilities. Coal-carbonization production was later joined by carbureted-water-gas equipment in 1910; both processes operated until 1921 and generated coal tar that accumulated around the former gas-holder system.
The modern investigation began in March 1993 after an unknown oily material entered basement sumps at the Gastown Sportsmen's Club. Sampling and historical research identified the material as likely coal tar from the vanished gasworks, turning a buried industrial source into a building-specific off-site pathway.
The remedy uses stabilization, sediment work, recovery and treatment rather than relying only on excavation. That operating-system history is central to understanding why the site remains managed after the former gasworks disappeared.
Chronology in context
Turning points in the public record
Before 1910-1921
Coal-carbonization and later carbureted-water-gas processes produced gas and a persistent coal-tar byproduct.
March 1993
A spill complaint at the Sportsmen's Club led investigators to coal-tar material entering basement sumps.
System installation
Recovery and treatment equipment was installed to intercept contamination.
2002 onward
Semiannual and later monitoring reports documented system operation and site conditions.
Recent construction
Upland soil stabilization, Tonawanda Creek sediment work, collection trenches and shoreline restoration expanded the remedy.
News record
Major news events
Coverage selected here marks a turning point in public awareness, policy, enforcement, employment, or cleanup. Links open at the original publisher or archive; WNYAtlas does not reproduce restricted articles or images.
Coal tar entering a club's basement sumps reveals a vanished gasworks
A spill complaint at the Gastown Sportsmen's Club led investigators to coal-tar material associated with the former manufactured-gas plant and turned a buried industrial history into an off-site building concern.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ↗Cleanup reaches Tonawanda Creek and the Erie Canal bikeway corridor
Construction combined upland stabilization, sediment dredging, collection trenches and shoreline restoration while maintaining access for site tenants and pedestrian traffic.
LAND Remediation, Inc. ↗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.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Coal-tar NAPL remains a persistent subsurface source.
- Dissolved manufactured-gas compounds affected groundwater.
- Contamination reached or threatened nearby basement sump pathways, creating a building-specific concern.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- NAPL and affected groundwater are recovered to limit migration, while sump observations evaluate building-specific pathways.
- Recent construction stabilized approximately 15,000 cubic yards of affected upland soil and addressed contaminated Tonawanda Creek sediment while preserving access for tenants and trail users.
- Collected liquids are treated or disposed of through approved systems.
- Monitoring wells and nearby sump observations evaluate performance and potential off-site movement.
Then and now
The site today
DEC classifies Gastown as a Class 4 site: remedial construction is complete, but operation, maintenance, monitoring, and site management remain required. Public interpretation should focus on the recovery system and current protectiveness rather than treating the former plant footprint as the only relevant boundary.
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.