cleanup · Niagara County
Robert Moses Parkway - South Site
Niagara Falls
State Superfund cleanup within Niagara Falls State Park where buried contaminated fill included an organochlorine-pesticide hazardous-waste area. Roughly 32,000 tons of contaminated soil and waste were removed, including approximately 2,810 tons managed as hazardous pesticide waste; covers and long-term controls remain.
The documented story
What happened here?
The approximately 16-acre cleanup area lies between Buffalo Avenue, Riverside Drive, the former Robert Moses Parkway, Fourth Street, and the Niagara River.
DEC records state that the area has been park land since the Niagara Reservation was created in 1885 and did not confirm former mills or factories inside the site boundary. The marker therefore documents buried fill and waste, not a proven on-site manufacturing operation.
Connected history — reconstruction exposed imported fill
A parkway project revealed buried pesticide waste inside historic parkland
32,000 tonsapproximately, contaminated soil and waste removed
2010-2015
Transportation planning triggered environmental investigation
Assessment for parkway and riverway reconstruction identified the possibility of contaminated fill. State Parks entered a cleanup order and investigation separated ordinary park and roadway ground from defined waste and soil areas.
2015-2019
Removal distinguished hazardous pesticide waste from the larger excavation
Crews removed roughly 32,000 tons of contaminated soil and waste. Approximately 2,810 tons were managed as organochlorine-pesticide hazardous waste; aldrin, hexachlorobenzene, metals, volatile compounds, and semi-volatile compounds appeared in the site record.
2020-present
A completed remedy supports the riverway under continuing controls
Remaining material is managed beneath site covers with inspection, maintenance, land restrictions, and a site-management plan. The completed work supports passive recreation without declaring the entire state park contaminated.
Chronology
Timeline
- 2010
A preliminary assessment for parkway reconstruction identified the potential for contaminated fill.
- 2015-2018
State Parks entered a cleanup order, investigations defined affected areas, and interim removals addressed buried waste and contaminated soil.
- 2019
DEC selected the final State Superfund remedy, incorporating the completed removals, site covers, and long-term management.
- 2020-present
A certificate documented completion of remedial construction while the site remained subject to covers, restrictions, and management.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Aldrin exceeded the commercial-use soil cleanup objective in a documented hot spot; hexachlorobenzene and additional metals, volatile compounds, and semi-volatile compounds were also reported.
- Approximately 2,810 tons of excavated material were managed as organochlorine-pesticide hazardous waste, within roughly 32,000 tons of total contaminated soil and waste removed.
- The records establish contamination within the defined cleanup site but do not establish that the surrounding state park or nearby neighborhoods share the same conditions.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The interim work excavated contaminated soil and buried wastes for permitted off-site disposal or treatment.
- Site covers over remaining contamination support passive recreational use; a site-management plan, inspections, maintenance, and recorded restrictions preserve the remedy.
Then and now
The site today
The riverway and park setting can be used subject to the completed remedy and continuing controls. The page should not describe the entire park as contaminated.
The site is an example of contaminated imported fill within historic park land; the reviewed record did not establish a former factory inside the cleanup boundary.