Brighton Residents Question Actors in Gas Spill/ Clean-up

Dec. 5) About 100 Residents of Brighton filled the Brighton Town Hall meeting room Thursday evening to hear an update on what government offices and Newcomb oil are doing to clean an 8,000 gallon gasoline spill that began leaking into the groundwater last
May.

The spill, which originated at the Citgo Station, at 2087 Monroe Ave, forced some area residents to evacuate homes this past fall while venting systems were installed to deal with the gas vapors. Newcomb Oil of Pittsford owns the Citgo station in question.

Soon after the spill was discovered on September 9th, the Citgo Station reported the occurrence to the DEC. The Station has since been closed, the underground gas tanks removed, and some contaminated soil trucked away. But, the gas is still in the ground and moving through the groundwater, about 7-10 feet below the surface. The spill entered a sanitary sewer line on Torrington Drive, a street northwest of the Citgo site and the area where residents are experiencing the most problems.MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether), a harmful gasoline additive that spreads quicklyin water, is one of the primary concerns. DEC personnel also reported to the residents that PERC, a substance not found in gasoline was detected in soil and water samples. This is a substance used in dry cleaning and industrial facilities. This implies past contamination by other industry, and points to the need for comprehensive soil and water monitoring, not just in areas where spills have been detected.

During the question and answer period, Residents directed Questions and comments to a panel including personnel from DEC, Monroe County Health Officials, an environmental consulting firm who represents Newcomb Oil, and a representative of the Brighton Fire Dept., Town supervisor, Sandra L. Frankel, a number of other elected officials and Mike Newcomb, president of Newcomb Oil were present in the audience as well. One resident of Torrington Drive, who bought a house in July of this year, challenged the panel and Mr. Newcomb to explain why it took Newcomb Oil nearly 4 months to report the leak. It has been determined that the leak started in May of 2003. Her concern was echoed by other residents' questions and comments. Mike Newcomb denied knowing about the leak until the September report date. The same questioner then asked who was responsible for not noticing and not recording the leak for 4 months. One member of the panel explained that there are strict recording procedures for gas storage, and there was a major error in Newcomb's practices that allowed the leak to go undetected and unreported for such a long period of time. The panel expressed agreement that it may take several years to clean-up the Spill entirely.

There will be future hearings at Brighton town hall to update residents on the progress of clean-up efforts. The times and dates will be available on the Indymedia Calendar as they become available.

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Article by V. Freile of D&C