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U. S. Army Corps of Engineers awards contract for landfill cap and cover at the former Schenectady Army Depot in Guilderland, NY

Published Aug. 14, 2012

NEW YORK – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $3.3 million contract to H2H Associates of Troy, N.Y., to install a landfill cap and cover at the former Schenectady Army Depot in the town of Guilderland.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been investigating the former Schenectady Army Depot as part of the Formerly Used Defense Sites program, which involves investigating sites used by the military in the past and determining the best ways to mitigate potential hazards that may be a result of past use.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with public input, selected the landfill cap and cover as the remedy for the Southern Landfill section of the former Schenectady Army Depot. The Southern Landfill section was found to contain hazardous substances, referred to as volatile organic compounds, related to the placement of discarded wastes, such as solvents and degreasers, during the operation of the former Depot. The landfill cap and cover is designed to reduce the movement of these substances in groundwater, as well as allow natural degradation processes to accelerate.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will examine the effectiveness of the remedy by testing groundwater in on-site monitoring wells to be located at the perimeter of the former landfill.

“This project serves as a successful result of many years of investigation and planning and will help improve the environment,” said Project Manager Gregory J. Goepfert of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. “We applaud our partners and others who have helped us proceed to this point; including the members of the public serving on the Restoration Advisory Board, the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health, the Albany County Health Department, the Town of Guilderland and the current property owner of the site.”

Design work for the landfill cap and cover will begin immediately, with the installation of the cap and cover slated to be completed in spring 2013. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be holding a public meeting to provide a progress update this fall, with a date to be announced later.

The Department of Defense owned the 650-acre former Schenectady Army Depot property from 1941 to 1969 where it was originally a regulating station to control movements of personnel and supplies into or out of the area and was later used as a depot for the receipt, storage, maintenance, and distribution of supply items for the Army. It is now part of the DoD’s Formerly Used Defense Sites program.