Project Status
The Bloody Brook Voluntary Cleanup is officially complete. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) issued the release letter on March 21, 2018.
As you will recall, remediation began at the most upstream portion of the site (the wooded area near the NYS Thruway) in 2014 and was completed in spring 2017. Approximately 39,000 tons of soil and sediment were removed from the brook channel, side banks and properties adjacent to the affected areas.
Portion of the 2017 apartment complex property after remediation and restoration (July 2017).
What’s Next for the Site
To complete the requirements of the March 2014 Decision Document, Lockheed Martin submitted, and NYSDEC approved, a Site Management Plan (SMP) and Final Engineering Report (FER) for the site.*
The SMP provides a general description of the site, notes the controls in-place and describes the nature and extent of the remaining contamination at the site. As part of the SMP, Lockheed Martin is required to send notices annually to property owners within the site where residual cadmium remains below remedial excavation depths (that is, below 4 feet in residential areas).
These notices remind property owners of the potential presence of residual cadmium. They provide detailed information about where it could be encountered and what to do if the owner should need to dig within these areas. Affected property owners are sent these notices every year around March.
The FER documents the complete remedial program implementation and is required to receive a letter of release from the NYSDEC. Implementation of the SMP is the last phase of a remedial program, which begins with the release letter. Site management ensures the safe (re)use of properties where contamination remains in place.
From 2017 through 2022, Lockheed Martin completed the required post-remediation site monitoring and restoration. This monitoring ensured that restoration completed was performing as designed and the vegetation was growing as intended. As needed, based on these inspections, vegetation was replaced and if necessary, minor repairs were made to the brook side banks. These annual inspections comply with the March 2014 Decision Document prepared by the NYSDEC, property-specific restoration agreements and the NYSDEC approved restoration work plans for the site.
Beginning in 2023, Lockheed Martin will conduct annual site inspections for erosion and to ensure the engineered cap remains in place and is performing as designed.
Crayfish in the brook were sampled in 2018 to assess their cadmium concentrations following the completion of remedial activities. Results were compared to those from samples collected before remediation and showed a significant decrease. Two more crayfish sampling event were conducted in 2020 and 2022, once again the post-remediation average concentrations remain lower than the 2014 baseline average concentrations. This data confirms the effectiveness of the site remediation in mitigating potential cadmium impacts to the brook.
As required by the Site Management Plan, Periodic Review Report and IC/EC Certification (PRR and IC/EC) were being submitted to NYSDEC on an annual basis through 2021. NYSDEC has approved a change in that frequency to every three years and the next PRR and IC/EC Certification is due on August 30, 2024. They can be viewed here.
*Note that the Site Management Plan (SMP) and Final Engineering Report (FER) for the site are available on this website; full SMP, FER text tables and figures. Appendices are available upon request.
Looking downstream from the wooded area (summer 2017).
Recent Documents
- 2023 Site Management Plan Updated September
- 2022 Biological Monitoring Summary
- 2022 Restoration Monitoring Summary Report
- 2022 Site Management Plan Updated May
- 2021 Periodic Review Report & IC/EC Certification
- 2021 Restoration Monitoring Summary Report
- 2021 Site Management Plan Updated March
Ducks in brook near the wooded area (summer 2017).
Community Information
For More Information Contact Jill Fonte, Lockheed Martin Project Manager
Timeline
1947 - General Electric (a Lockheed Martin heritage company) opened its doors at Electronics Park.
1993 - The facility became part of Martin Marietta in 1993.
1995 - The facility became part of Lockheed Martin after Martin Marietta and Lockheed merged.
1996 - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), during an environmental investigation of tributaries that flow into Onondaga Lake, detected elevated cadmium levels.
1996 - Following NYSDEC testing, Lockheed Martin began voluntary environmental investigations.
1997 - Lockheed Martin removed 325 tons of sediment from a 750-foot stretch of the West Branch of the brook closest to the facility.
2001-2007 - Lockheed Martin collected more than 1,000 soil samples further downstream and found elevated levels of cadmium at depths ranging to 15 feet
2002 - Lockheed Martin entered into a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement with NYSDEC
2005 - Lockheed Martin created a Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) that it submitted to NYSDEC
2008 - Lockheed Martin removed sediment from four sets of culverts along the West Branch of Bloody Brook.
2009 - Lockheed Martin assisted with soil removal from properties included in an Onondaga County stormwater drainage improvement project.
2009 - Lockheed Martin submitted a revised Interim Remedial Measures Work Plan
2010-2011 - Lockheed Martin and NYSDEC determined that additional soil samples needed to be collected from properties
2011 - Lockheed Martin submitted a sampling work plan to the NYSDEC which was approved
2013 - Lockheed Martin submitted a revised Remedial Action Work Plan to NYSDEC which incorporated the results of the 2011 soil sampling.
2013 - Lockheed Martin collected additional soil samples from some residential properties.
2013 - NYSDEC completed its review of the 2013 revision to the RAWP, and based on its content, developed a Proposed Decision Document
2014 - Tree Removal Work Plan for 2015 Construction Season was released
2014 - NYSDEC issued a final Decision Document which included responses to public comments and the administrative record for the site.
2014 - Lockheed Martin began cleanup activities in the most upstream portion of the Bloody Brook remediation site (the wooded area near the NYS Thruway).
2015 - Cleanup effort began in April in the wooded area where the 2014 activities left off, and continued downstream through the residential area up to the Floradale Road brook crossing.
2015 - 2015 Construction & Restoration Work Plan was released
2016 - Remedial construction activities were completed for Bloody Brook and its side banks within the Onondaga County drainage district easement from the downstream side of Floradale Road to the site boundary at Onondaga Lake Parkway.
2016 - Construction and Restoration Work Plan was released
2016 - Tree Removal Work Plan & Waste Characterization Soil Sampling Plan 2016 was released
2017 – Lockheed Martin completed remediation of the Bloody Brook site with the cleanup and restoration of an apartment complex property adjacent to the brook.
2018 - The Bloody Brook Voluntary Cleanup is officially complete. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) issued the release letter on March 21, 2018.
2019 - The first Periodic Review Report and IC/EC Certification (PRR and IC/EC) was submitted to and approved by NYSDEC.