This week, residents have their first opportunity in more than a year to hear from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials about the Eighteenmile Creek Superfund Site that extends from Lockport to Newfane and Olcott.
The EPA will provide information tables and exhibits Wednesday at Lockport Town Hall, 6560 Dysinger Road, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
On Thursday, the EPA will be available at the Town of Newfane Community Center, 2737 Main St., from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. The gatherings will include exhibits and information on the site.
Eighteenmile Creek is undergoing clean-up for contamination of PCBs and heavy metals, including lead, dumped by the former Flintkote company in Lockport’s Lowertown.
City residents, including Cindy Bucolo, say there has been little communication on the ongoing developments of the remediation over the past several years.
Residents who walked out of an EPA “public availability” session in Niagara Falls last week concerning potential radiation contamination there said there was a lack of opportunity for them to ask questions. They said the EPA had required that they submit questions in writing before the session began.
After receiving a notice for the upcoming meetings last week, Erin Gugliuzza of Vine Street replied to the EPA expressing her concerns about the Lowertown contamination.
“As we anticipate the arrival of a new child in February, our family holds significant concerns regarding the potential environmental impacts of the planned remediation activities,” Gugliuzza said. “We are particularly apprehensive about any operations that could disturb existing contaminants, leading to the generation of airborne particulate matter, including lead dust, or other hazardous substances near our home. Our specific anxieties extend to activities that might involve the disruption of our property, such as work affecting our fence, driveway, shed, or basement, which could potentially expose our family to contaminated soil or other materials. We urge you to provide comprehensive details regarding the specific precautions, safety protocols, and health protection measures that are being implemented for families with infants and young children residing within the Superfund zone. We understand that children, especially those under the age of 10, are acutely susceptible to the adverse effects of lead exposure and other environmental toxins. We trust that the EPA, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health, has developed a robust and scientifically sound plan to safeguard the health of the community’s most vulnerable members.”
In an email response July 9 to questions asked by the Union Sun & Journal on June 1, Stephen McBay, EPA spokesman, said that residential lead soil cleanup is addressed in phases, with the EPA expecting to complete 34 residential properties under Phase 1 by the end of the year. McBay confirmed that soil cleanup has been completed at some unidentified residential properties on Frost Street, Porter Street, Mill Street, Chapel Street and North Adam Street.
The EPA completed the removal of contaminated soil along the banks in Upson Park in January, McBay said.
“EPA is now removing contaminated sediment from the West Branch, south of Clinton Street. Restoration work in Upson Park is expected to begin in fall 2026 and continue into 2027,” he said.
In April, the EPA said it identified more than 100 properties in Lowertown for remediation as part of the Eighteenmile Creek Corridor clean-up. The agency first declared the former Flintkote site and adjoining property a Superfund environmental remediation site in 2008. The first phase of clean-up of contaminating PCBs and heavy metals, including lead, began in 2015. Homes along Water Street were demolished and the lots are now behind the fences of the site.
Today, the site extends from Lowertown to Olcott, where the creek flows into Lake Ontario. Mike Basile, spokesman for EPA Region 2, said in April that the agency identified 28 industrial and residential properties along or near the creek in the city in 2019 and signed a remedial decision. In 2024, Phase Two of the remediation got underway at Upson Park.
EPA manages the Eighteenmile Creek Superfund site in several sections, called operable units (OU), McBay said, because they involve different types of contamination, properties and remediation work.
According to McBay, the sections and planned work include:
• OU1, which covers soil contamination at nine residential properties along Water Street and the former buildings at the Flintkote property.
• OU2 includes contaminated soil at several properties adjacent to the creek, including the former United Paperboard Company property, the White Transportation property, the former Flintkote Plant property and Upson Park. OU2 also includes contaminated sediment in the creek corridor, a nearly 4,000-foot stretch in the city from the canal to Harwood Street.
• OU3 covers creek sediment and floodplain soil beginning at Harwood Street and extending downstream for nearly 5.3 miles.
• OU4 includes lead-contaminated soil at residential properties near the former Flintkote property.
• OU5 covers the remaining downstream portion of the creek, from OU3 to where Eighteenmile Creek discharges into Lake Ontario, including sediment and floodplain soil.
McBay said the EPA uses “multiple lines of evidence” to determine where investigation and cleanup are needed, including environmental sampling results, site history, prior investigations by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and how contamination may move through creek sediment and floodplain areas. For residential properties near the former Flintkote Property in OU4, McBay said the EPA relies primarily on soil sampling results showing lead contamination.
“EPA has also reviewed historical aerial photographs and other site information to better understand whether material from the former Flintkote property may have been placed at nearby residential properties,” he said. “For floodplain soil, EPA also relies on sampling data, while prioritizing areas that are more likely to be affected by flooding or creek movement. EPA is working to define where contamination related to the Eighteenmile Creek Superfund Site is present and where cleanup is needed.
As sampling identifies site-related contamination above cleanup criteria, EPA may sample additional nearby properties to determine the extent of that contamination. EPA’s authority under Superfund is focused on contamination connected to the site, such as contamination from the former Flintkote Plant in Lockport. The purpose of the additional sampling is to define the boundary of site-related contamination.”