WPCNR GREEN NEWS. January 24, 2012:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has approved the White Plains measures to cap, seal and close the Gedney Landfill, Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti told WPCNR Monday. The Commissioner said he received final approval from the DEC in a letter Friday.

White Plains Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti

The plan was devised by the Commissioner in several versions over the last six years under the auspices of the NYSDEC. It came about based on a series of test well readings measuring the amount of Tri-Chloral-Ethylene (TCE) contamination below ground beginning in 2006.

After the series readings, the Commissioner of Public Works working with consultants devised a recommended plan to cap the dump on the surface and on its sides to prevent escape of an underground TCE pocket sixteen feet below the surface that has been polluting the Mamaroneck River for over 35 years. The TCE pocket was created by disposal of dry cleaning agents in the dump for many decades.

As part of the plan, the city will  resurface the Our Lady of Sorrows Softball field adjacent the dump, to avoid users of the field from any contact with contaminated soil, according to the DEC)  below the surface of the field, or adjacent to the field..

Commissioner Nicoletti told WPCNR bids will be requested shortly, and he expected the work to begin by June, 2012.

Previously the Commissioner has speculated the project could cost the city $8 to $10 Million with the state reimbursing the city approximately $2 Million.