cleanup · Erie County
Tonawanda Forge Site
Town of Tonawanda
Demolition of a former GM and American Axle forge exposed PCB oil, petroleum, contaminated debris, sewers, ponded water, soil, and groundwater across a 33-acre industrial property.
The documented story
What happened here?
The 33.2-acre Tonawanda Forge property began as part of the General Motors Tonawanda complex. GM sold the forge parcel to American Axle in 1994; American Axle sold it in 2008 to Lewis Brothers, which stripped equipment and demolished most of the manufacturing complex. Four buildings, foundations, pavement, a raised landfill area, and extensive buried utilities remained.
Demolition did more than uncover an old industrial landscape. DEC reported that petroleum contamination was not addressed promptly and that mishandling of a PCB transformer released PCB oil near the former die room and maintenance area. The state intervened under separate spill cases and later listed the inactive property as a Class 2 State Superfund site.
Investigation divided the work into two operable units so that different pathways would not be collapsed into one story. Operable Unit 1 covers soil, sewer sediment, and surface water; Operable Unit 2 covers groundwater. The neighboring GM property surrounds much of the forge site but remains a separate property and operating history.
The physical condition of the abandoned plant became part of the environmental problem. Blocked storm-sewer outlets allowed water to pond across paved areas, while contaminated sediment remained in roughly 19,000 feet of on-site sewer. Soil contained PCBs, PAHs, metals, petroleum, buried piping, and areas of visible waste or oil.
Chronology in context
Turning points in the public record
Before 1994
The forge operated as part of the larger GM Tonawanda manufacturing complex.
1994–2008
American Axle owned the separated forge property before selling it to Lewis Brothers.
2008–2013
Equipment removal and demolition exposed petroleum and PCB releases; DEC undertook spill response and site characterization after responsible parties did not complete timely cleanup.
2015–2016
An interim action removed about 6,000 tons of asbestos- or PCB-contaminated construction and demolition debris that obstructed the investigation.
2016–2019
Investigators recovered approximately 155 gallons of PCB-containing light non-aqueous phase liquid from a monitoring well, searched for its source, and completed the remedial investigation and feasibility study.
March 2020
DEC selected the Operable Unit 1 remedy for soil, sewers, and ponded surface water while leaving groundwater to Operable Unit 2.
2021–2022
A consent decree and pre-design investigation advanced the selected remedy toward construction.
Present
The inactive industrial property remains in the State Superfund program; groundwater and the performance of the constructed or planned controls must be followed through current DEC records.
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.
New York selects a soil-and-sewer remedy after demolition reveals multiple waste pathways
DEC's first operable-unit decision called for approximately 2,400 cubic yards of contaminated-soil removal, cleaning and sealing about 19,000 feet of sewer, new stormwater controls, industrial-use cover, and long-term management while reserving groundwater for a separate decision.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ↗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
- PCBs, PAHs, arsenic, iron, lead, mercury, and other metals exceeded applicable criteria in one or more Operable Unit 1 media.
- A 2016 monitoring well contained 15.5 feet of floating oil with PCBs reported at 270 parts per million. DEC recovered about 155 gallons between November 2016 and May 2019, but the investigation did not locate a definitive source during that work.
- About 19,000 linear feet of sewer contained sediment requiring cleaning and isolation, demonstrating that underground infrastructure was a contaminant pathway rather than merely a redevelopment obstacle.
- Stormwater ponded across the property after outlets at the adjoining-property boundaries were blocked to prevent contaminated flow from leaving the forge parcel.
- Groundwater contained PAHs, PCBs, and metals above standards in some locations. The 2020 decision states that nearby drinking water came from a separate municipal source and that no drinking-water wells were known within at least half a mile.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- Interim work removed approximately 6,000 tons of contaminated demolition debris and recovered accessible PCB-containing oil.
- The selected soil remedy anticipates removing roughly 2,400 cubic yards of contaminated material, including grossly contaminated soil, high-lead waste, visible waste, oil, and soil exceeding industrial criteria outside the designated landfill area.
- Approximately 19,000 feet of contaminated sewer are to be cleaned and sealed, with recovered liquids and solids characterized for treatment or off-site disposal.
- New catch basins and stormwater collection are intended to eliminate ponding, while an industrial-use cover, environmental easement, groundwater restriction, excavation plan, and vapor provisions control contamination left in place.
- Operable Unit 2 groundwater remains a separate investigation and remedy question; completion of the soil-and-sewer work should not be described as closure of the entire site.
Then and now
The site today
The property is inactive and restricted to low-occupancy industrial use under the selected remedy. Its current status depends on remedial construction, maintenance of cover and drainage systems, sewer isolation, groundwater decisions, and periodic certification.