Reuse of a New York State Superfund Site for Renewable Energy - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Reuse of a New York State Superfund Site for Renewable Energy Generation

Mark Gregor Manager of Environmental Quality City of Rochester, NY March 28, 2017

• 1. Background
• 2. Project Coordination
• a. Former Emerson Street Landfill (FESL) - NYS IHWDS

Registry 828023

• b. Port of Rochester Marina Development

c. City of Rochester- Solar Developer Power Purchase Agreement

• 3. Key Project Outcomes
• 4. Questions

• 1. Former Emerson Street Landfill (FESL)

a. NYS IHWDS (Registry No. 828023) b. City liability resolution c. Productive reuse

• 2. Port of Rochester Marina Development

a. Construction of a new 4.7 acre marina basin b. Management & disposition of excavated soils/fills

• 3. City - Solar Developer Power Purchase

Agreement

a. Feasibility b. NYSERDA monetary solar credit deadline c. PPA lease timing

• City owned and
• perated municipal

landfill 1930s until 1971

• 255 acres in northwest

quadrant of the City

• Less than 16 acres now

remain NYSDEC IHWDS (Class 3)

• “Legacy Site” Consent

Order with NYSDEC

• 1655 Lexington Avenue

parcel delisting investigation and subdivision

Petition burden under 6NYCRR Part 375-2.7(e): Demonstrate that consequential amounts of hazardous waste disposal did not occur

Port Redevelopment Planning Began in 2006

• Repurposing of Port
• f Rochester fast ferry

terminal, facilities, and grounds

• Extensive pre-

planning required due to project location and site history

• Excavation and

construction of 4.7 acre marina basin

• Excavation of 4.7 acre

marina

• Extension of River Street
• Rerouting of Major Sanitary

Sewer

• Reconfigure Water,

Telephone, Electric, Street Lighting, Fiber optics, Gas

• Relocation of iron slag and
• ther materials (3 spoil

material classifications)

• Monitoring tracking of

excavated soils and fills

• Dewatering of marina basin

• Former Iron Foundry Late

1800s to mid 1920s

• Rail yard, blast furnaces

remnants remained in subsurface.

• Foundry waste products (e.g.

sand, slag, and C&D) were spread eastward into low areas toward Genesee River.

• Marina excavation required

removal of 100,000 cubic yards of iron slag fills

• Not cost effective to dispose
• f slag at 6NYCRR Part 360

Landfill

• Beneficial reuse of slag used

to support solar array project at FESL and Inner Loop

• Slag considered a regulated solid waste

under 6NYCRR Part 360 regulation

• City of Rochester reached and agreement

with the NYSDEC / Beneficial Use Determination to reuse slag at FESL

• Excavated and relocated 100,000 cubic

yards of slag to FESL

• BUD: process to DOT Type 2 subbase or

use directly as embankment in place

• Over 11,000 truck loads of slag

relocated to FESL to construct for solar array project

• Overall Goals:
• Reuse of vacant delisted portions of FESL (1974)
• Renewable energy generation
• Energy cost savings to the City
• USEPA’s RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative
• Renova/Brightfield Solar PPA Feasibility Study 2013
• NYSERDA NY Sun Incentive Program: 2 MW solar array
• PPA Request for proposal (May 2015)
• Solar developer selection process
• July – December 2015
• Nine proposals submitted

• PPA executed with Solar Liberty (March 2015)
• 25 year lease to Solar Liberty
• Solar Liberty designs, constructs, maintains and operates system
• City agrees to purchase power at lower rate
• Remote net metering benefit for City
• RG&E credits exceed PPA costs
• Status:
• Financing, incentive program and interconnection approvals in place
• City building permits issues
• April 2017 construction start

• Compliance with FESL consent order requirements
• State Superfund delisting of 13 acres for solar development site
• Beneficial reuse of 100,000 cubic yards of iron slag material to

construct solar pad

• $4 million slag disposal cost avoidance for marina construction

project

• State of the art Port of Rochester Marina (completed in Spring

2016)

• City – Solar Liberty PPA will result in:
• Annual electricity cost savings of about $90,000 for 25 years
• Greenhouse gas emissions reductions in support of the City’s

Climate Action Plan (~2,170 metric tons CO2 equivalent/yr)

• Renewable energy generation on land vacant for over 40 years

“The Sullivan’s Ledge solar photovoltaic project in New Bedford is being built on a Superfund landfill. (BlueWave Capital)”

http://bluewave-capital.com/projects/new-bedford/

Contact Information:

Mark Gregor Manager of Environmental Quality Mark.Gregor@cityofrochester.gov 585-428-5978

• 1. What are the basic requirements that must be established in
• rder to successfully “delist” a parcel from the NYS Inactive

Hazardous Waste Disposal Site Registry?

• 2. Why was it necessary to establish a Beneficial Use

Determination for the use of the iron slag?

• 3. What is the City of Rochester’s primary obligation under the

solar power purchase agreement, and why is this a benefit to the City?