Ithaca Journal

ITHACA -- Members of the state Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee will hold a public hearing in Ithaca later this month to examine the impact of soil and groundwater contamination on human health.

More than a decade ago, experts from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation labeled a swath of Ithaca's South Hill as a "Class 4" hazardous waste site.

In the jargon of environmental cleanup, "Class 4" essentially means "case closed." The conservation department decided that levels of chemicals that were spilled decades ago by the former Morse Chain plant were at levels that posed an insignificant risk.

ITHACA -- With only one house between his home and the test zone, Rick Grossman has been pushing hard to have his family's Park Street residence examined for contamination that originated at the former Morse Chain plant. So far, all he has been told is that two monitoring wells are going in nearby.

ITHACA -- Documents recently filed at the Tompkins County Public Library indicate that Emerson Power Transmission is adding two groundwater monitoring wells to the initially planned seven when construction begins next week.

ITHACA -- The public will have two opportunities to learn more about testing and investigations concerning environmental pollutants from the Emerson Power Transmission site on Thursday.

ITHACA -- The Department of Environmental Conservation has reclassified the Emerson Power Transmission factory cleanup site as a 'significant threat to the environment.'

The DEC changed the site from a Class 4 -- a site that has been properly closed but requires continued maintenance and/or monitoring -- to a Class 2.

ITHACA -- Reclassification of the Emerson Power Transmission site on South Hill is imminent, according to state officials, but the impact of the change on investigations into pollution sources at the plant is expected to be minimal.

ITHACA -- Seven more homes downhill from the former Morse Chain plant will be included in testing for airborne chemicals, according to a spokesperson for Emerson Power Transmission.