Source: http://www.pressconnects.com, March 28, 2016
By: Tom Wilber
A plan to transform urban decay in Johnson City into a thriving college campus is a tale of ruin and renewal.
Much of the story has focused on the renewal, featuring Binghamton University’s $100 million nursing and pharmacy campus to anchor a cultural and professional district near UHS Wilson Medical Center.
Before construction can begin, contractors must eliminate environmental hazards outlined in documents filed with Broome County and Binghamton University.
Specifically, a 2012 study commissioned by the Broome County Planning Department outlines various “areas of concern” at the 100-year-old factory building at 48 Corliss Ave. — the site of the nursing school.
Here, rodent and bird remains litter stairwells, floor stains mark the place where unknown waste was once stored in drums, and lead paint is peeling from walls. Testing has found elevated levels of PCBs in an elevator shaft, and metals in the ground outside the building.
The monolithic cement and brick building was at the center of Endicott Johnson’s shoe manufacturing empire from when it was built in 1916 until the 1970s. After that, it was a blueprint paper and film processing plant, and chemical storage site for Ozalid Corp., according to records.
Both businesses thrived during an era where chemicals were used with relatively little regard to health risks and environmental impacts, and without regulation governing disposal.
Problems identified at the site are not unusual for an abandoned factory building from that era, but they warrant due diligence.
The 2012 study, by Jennings Environmental Management Inc., found the industrial history of the building and nearby industrial ruins to be “a recognized environmental concern.” Results of follow-up tests that year alleviated some of the concerns, but also called for more evaluation and possibly monitoring wells.
The university has hired Jennings to clean PCB stains and remove asbestos, lead, hazardous substances and biohazards, and to complete other investigations before renovations begin. The cost of the environmental work is estimated between $1 million and $1.5 million.
Cleanup will begin “as soon as possible,” said Binghamton University spokesman Ryan Yarosh.  He characterized problems as “less than significant.”
The cleanup will include double checking for a hazard common to factories from the pre-regulatory era — waste that may have been dumped, spilled or poured down drains into dry wells or sumps beneath the building, or in the ground around the parameter.
University officials feel confident there will be no surprises based on the outcome of previous tests documented by the county.
“(The lack of environmental problems) is one of the reasons we bought the site,” Yarosh said. “We’re good.”
Test wells outside the building found elevated levels of aluminum, iron and sodium, and other inorganic compounds in soil and shallow groundwater. Although concentrations exceed the state’s cleanup standard, environmental consultants have determined they are not a threat because people will not be exposed to them.
A June report from Jennings Environmental to university officials concluded the problem “is not likely to need to be addressed if Building is not demolished and no excavations are required.”
The report did, however, note that the state Department of Environmental Conservation might require the installation of groundwater monitoring wells and periodic testing to track concentrations.
The report also advised that 48 Corliss could qualify for funding under the state’s brownfield program, which offers incentives to clean and reclaim old industrial sites.
Scheduled for mid to late 2018, the opening of the new BU campus will mark a milestone in a long-standing effort to revitalize the area. In 2008, the Broome County Planning Department held a series of public meetings that gave rise to a blueprint for funding and development called the EJ Industrial Spine Brownfield Opportunity Area.
Original plans called for a business district anchored by the renovation of Goodwill Theatre, at the intersection of Corliss Avenue and Willow Street.
In 2005, Gannett’s regional printing presses were installed in a new building less than a half-mile from the Willow Street area on a site cleaned and reclaimed from the Endicott Johnson ruins using the state’s brownfield incentives. In 2010, Wal-Mart opened a nearby store on a former EJ site that also was cleaned under the state’s brownfield program.
Ken Kamlet, an environmental attorney with Hinman Howard and Kattell who specializes in brownfield reclamation, said he once advised a client with limited funds and expertise against a proposal to purchase and renovate 48 Corliss because of liability concerns.
But he sees the project as an ideal fit for a buyer with the know-how, backing and resources of Binghamton University.
“The State University of New York has the wherewithal to do this right, and it will be great for the area,” he said.
A review by the Binghamton University Building Fund filed with the state DEC found no environmental problems at 96 Corliss, the site of the pharmacy school adjacent to 48 Corliss. The ground has been cleared for the pharmacy school, and construction is expected to begin later this year.