Paper Mill Island

One Brownfield site which showcases our work is the award winning Paper Mill Island located in Baldwinsville, New York.

Paper Mill Island, an abandoned industrial eyesore on the Seneca River, was the first New York State Brownfield site to be remediated and redeveloped.  This, and other projects, exemplifies our ability to bring Brownfield sites to their full potential through rigorous and timely investigation, remediation and site redevelopment efforts.

 

Beginning in the mid-1800’s until its abandonment in the late 1980’s, Paper Mill Island was used by various industrial entities (including a paper mill) that resulted in significant land contamination.  Contaminants included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), lead and mercury.  In September 1998, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) accepted the site into the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) and the Village of Baldwinsville retained Plumley Engineering to conduct an investigation and provide remedial design services.

 

Through investigative measures approved by the DEC, Plumley Engineering identified the extent of surface and subsurface contamination.  In 1999, we submitted a remedy to the DEC that included a soil cap, a retaining wall to stabilize the shoreline and control erosion/migration of impacted soil, limited soil removal with appropriate disposal offsite, and institutional controls for inspection and maintenance of the cap and retaining wall, which was subsequently approved by the DEC.

 

In addition to the remedial design, Plumley Engineering and Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt Engineers & Landscape Architects, P.C. provided additional site development plans for the construction of a municipal waterfront park.  In September 2000, the park, which includes an amphitheater and boater access, was opened on the remediated property.  It now hosts concerts and other events from May through September.

 

In 2002, the New York Association of Consulting Engineers, Inc. selected the Paper Mill Island site for their prestigious Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence in the category of Environmental Engineering.

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Paper Mill Island Bridge

The bridge to Paper Mill Island was nearly 100 years old, structurally deficient and closed to traffic.

 

A new bridge was funded by the New York State Department of Transportation and designed by the New York State Canal Corporation.  Plumley Engineering was the construction administrator in its capacity as the Village of Baldwinsville’s Engineer.

 

A unique feature of the construction was our discovery, after dewatering the area, that a portion of bridge piers that were continuously submerged were perfectly sound and could be reused, saving significant expenditures on the project.

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