| Chapter 1: | Welcome to Hickory Woods |
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members of the ESI also served as educators by providing members of the homeowners’ association with the language they needed to discuss chemistry with Department of Health (DOH) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials.
Beginning in spring 2000, at the request of the mayor of Buffalo, EPA and New York State DOH officials undertook a full investigation of the public health concerns. The proposed testing would take place in addition to the two previous rounds of testing that the city had sponsored. Specifically, the EPA developed a soil-sampling plan that would cover 40–60 houses in the neighborhood. The houses were chosen based on their proximity to LTV parcels. Soil samples were taken from most lots within the 10-square-block area. Residents whose land was not in the originally proposed study area requested that their property be included, and the EPA agreed to include their lots as part of the final study.
Soil sampling occurred during May and June 2000. While this was taking place, EPA officials acknowledged that some of the properties tested in the city-contracted study from 1999 contained “hot spots” of PAH—defined as areas containing concentrations of PAH that were significantly higher than the average throughout the community. The EPA arranged a remediation plan with LTV Steel to treat the hot spots of PAH located on vacant lots. Remediation involved removing contaminated soil and replacing it with clean fill. Remediation was scheduled to take place in July 2000. LTV/Republic Steel agreed to pay $500,000 to clean up hot spots—but only those located on vacant property. The city was willing to support this plan; residents, however, did not approve, arguing that it was wrong to remediate only vacant areas. They felt it was irresponsible of LTV not to provide funds to clean the areas where people actually lived. LTV, however, could not provide funds for the cleanup in those areas—the company was filing for bankruptcy, and to provide additional funds would have been tantamount to admitting responsibility for any physical harm that people living on the lots sustained, including any future effects of the pollution.