The Niagara Gazette has asked New York’s lead environmental regulatory agency for copies of the results of tests performed at the Griffon Park boat launch in the City of Niagara Falls over the past five and a half years.
In a Freedom of Information Law request filed on Friday, the newspaper asked for any and all testing results from Griffon Park dating back to Jan. 1, 2021.
The DEC’s records access office acknowledged receipt of the request on Friday, indicating that the agency anticipated being able to issue a formal response by no later than July 13.
Under the law, the DEC has five business days to send an initial response to the request. The law provides up to 30 days for a public agency to either fulfill or deny a request and offer reasons for any denial. The agency can also seek additional time to comply with a request under limited circumstances prescribed under the law.
The newspaper’s FOIL submission follows renewed public concerns about the presence of an orange, brownish substance near the boat docks at the park located at 9551 Buffalo Ave.
Similar concerns drew public interest in May 2024 when DEC staff members visited the park and conducted tests related to the orange-colored substance found at the boat docks.
In a statement issued at that time to the local television station WKBW in Buffalo, the DEC indicated that the orange discoloration was caused by “elevated levels of iron previously identified in the area.”
State officials have suggested such discoloration could be attributed to iron-oxidizing bacteria, a naturally occurring bacteria that reacts with iron in groundwater, sometimes causing the creation of fluffy, orange deposits.
Following the 2024 site visit, the DEC indicated that the material did not pose any threat to public health and no additional cleanup was warranted.
DEC spill response staff and an environmental conservation Police Officer returned to Griffon Park on Tuesday.
In a statement issued in response to questions from the newspaper, DEC spokesperson John Salka said agency staff reached conclusions similar to the findings from the 2024 site visit.
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation investigated public complaints about a discolored water seep at Griffon Park and, similar to past investigations for the same situation at this site, it was determined the cause was from naturally occurring bacteria,” he said.
In a statement issued earlier this week, Mayor Robert Restaino’s administration noted that the orange substance emanating from the ground near the boat docks was “not a new phenomenon” and also indicated that the DEC tested the area with “no findings of hazardous chemicals.”
“While it is an unusual appearance, the DEC is and continues to monitor and test to be sure that remains the case. Out of an abundance of caution for public health and safety, the DEC is continuing to monitor and sample,” the city said in its statement.
Photos and video from Griffon Park posted on social media in recent weeks prompted renewed public alarm about the situation, with several people suggesting the presence of the substance could have something to do with toxic chemical residue seeping into the Little Niagara River from the Love Canal area or from the neighboring 102nd Street landfill.
Both the DEC and the city insist that’s not the case, with the state regulatory agency indicating that sampling from 2004, 2016 and 2022 showed results below DEC action levels, with no petroleum or hazardous chemicals rising above regulatory limits.
Prior field reports produced by the DEC have indicated the presence of PFOA, PFAS and dioxin, chemicals that can be associated with leachate seep, a mixture formed when rainwater filters through waste in a landfill.
The DEC maintains there’s been no indication of the so-called “seep” that was subject to sampling being associated with Love Canal or the 102nd Street landfill. The DEC noted that the Griffon Park site is not sampled annually.
“No connection to Love Canal or the 102nd Street Landfill, or contamination of concern to public health or the environment have been identified,” the DEC said in its statement.
Griffon Park sits on 10 acres of city land. In addition to the boat launch, it offers picnic tables, a playground and a kayak launch. The park is immediately west of the 102nd Street landfill, a 22-acre site that is divided into two parcels — one 15.6-acre area owned by Occidental Chemical Corp., formerly known as Hooker Chemical and Plastics Corp., and another 5.6-acre section of land owned by Olin Chemical Corp.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a total of 89,500 tons of chemical materials were dumped on the landfills over the course of several decades.
The EPA reports 23,500 tons of mixed organic solvents, organic and inorganic phosphates, and related chemicals, along with brine sludge, fly ash, electrochemical cell parts and related equipment as well as 300 tons of hexachlorocyclohexane process cake, including lindane, were dumped in the larger area between 1943 and 1971.
The federal agency says another 66,000 tons of mixed organic and inorganic chemicals were dumped in the smaller area, along with 20,000 tons of mercury brine and brine sludge, more than 1,300 tons of a mixture of hazardous chemicals, 16 tons of mixed concrete boiler ash, fly ash and other residual materials, between 1948 and about 1970.
In 1972, the site was capped, a fence was placed on three sides and a bulkhead was installed along the Niagara River. A reinforced underground barrier known as a slurry wall was also installed in an effort to prevent water or contaminants from leaching into adjacent ground and the river. The landfill is managed, under the oversight of the DEC and the EPA, by Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum that manages legacy environmental remediation projects and Superfund cleanups and provides maintenance for closed facilities.
The 102nd Street landfill page on the EPA’s website indicates that the potential of exposure of contaminants at the landfill was “virtually eliminated” following the construction of a slurry wall, the installation of a leachate collection and pumping system, the installation of a permanent, synthetic/clay cap over the landfill and the erection of new fencing to restrict access.
As to potential for off-site migration of contaminants, the website notes the following: “Data will be collected to verify that the discharge of contaminants into the Niagara River has been eliminated.”
As with any federal Superfund site, the EPA inspects the 102nd Street landfill every five years to ensure “cleanups conducted remain fully protective of human health and the environment.”
The federal agency’s most recent five-year report for the 102nd Street landfill, which was issued on May 28, 2026, determined remedies put in place to protect human health and the environment are still “functioning as intended.”
The report did document “exceedances” of dioxane — a synthetic industrial chemical used as a solvent and stabilizer — while recommending the substance be added to the landfill’s existing groundwater monitoring program.
Residents who have inquiries about Griffon Park are encouraged to call the DEC at 716-851-7165 or send emails to Region9@dec.ny.gov.