cleanup · Niagara County
Tract II Highland Avenue
Niagara Falls
Former manufacturing and waste-fill property at Highland and Beech Avenues. DEC records document lead and PAHs in soil, excavation and treatment, a site-wide cover, and continuing land-use and site-management controls. A Certificate of Completion was issued in 2018.
The documented story
What happened here?
Tract II covers roughly 20 acres at Highland and Beech Avenues in Niagara Falls. DEC records state that the western part housed business-form manufacturers from 1903 to 1971, while the eastern part was associated directly or indirectly with the neighboring former battery-manufacturing property.
Waste and fill on the eastern portion included demolition debris, battery casings, granular fill, and later household dumping. A city Environmental Restoration investigation began under site B00022; the property was later addressed as State Superfund site 932136.
Chronology in context
Turning points in the public record
1903–1971
Business-form manufacturing occupied the western portion.
Historic industrial era
The eastern portion was associated with the adjacent former battery-manufacturing operation and accumulated deep waste and fill.
2000–2003
The city investigated the property through the Environmental Restoration Program and DEC issued a Record of Decision.
2008
DEC registered the property as a Class 2 State Superfund site after the original remedy was not implemented.
2012
DEC amended the remedy based on additional investigation.
November 2018
DEC approved the final work and issued a Certificate of Completion.
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.
DEC asks the public to review Tract II's completed-cleanup status
After excavation, treatment and cover construction, DEC opened a public-comment period on reclassifying and partially delisting the Highland and Beech Avenue property while long-term controls remained.
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
- Lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were contaminants of concern in soil and fill.
- Some eastern fill extended to depths of approximately nine feet and included battery casings and demolition material.
- Investigation and remedial work also addressed petroleum-affected material and screened slag-like material for radiological concerns.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- Waste and fill were excavated for off-site disposal in designated areas.
- Lead-affected material was characterized and either treated by solidification/stabilization or disposed off site, as appropriate.
- A site-wide cover, clean utility corridors, an environmental easement, and a Site Management Plan control remaining material.
- Commercial or industrial use restrictions, groundwater-use limits, cover maintenance, monitoring, and periodic review continue.
Then and now
The site today
DEC issued a Certificate of Completion in 2018 and reclassified the site from Class 2 to Class C, indicating that remedial construction was complete but continuing management is required.
The nearby-schools map measures approximately 382 feet from the official Henry J. Kalfas Magnet School location point to the mapped DEC boundary. The reviewed DEC records do not state that contamination reached the school property.
School-map connection
See the documented campus relationship
The schools research map explains the documented property, adjacency, or mapped-parcel relationship without treating proximity as evidence of exposure or present school conditions.
Linked schools mapHENRY J KALFAS MAGNET SCHOOL →