AGREEMENT REACHED FOR RESTORATION OF FIVE VACANT LOTS IN A PORTION OF THE HICKORY WOODS SUBDIVISION IN SOUTH BUFFALO
June 2, 2000
Contact: Peter K. Cutler (716) 851-4841

BUFFALO, MISHAWAKA, Ind., and CLEVELAND (June 2, 2000) - The City of Buffalo, the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency (BURA), The Hanna Furnace Corporation, and LTV Steel Company Inc. today announced they have reached an agreement to work together with each other and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in regard to the restoration of five vacant lots currently owned by BURA in a portion of the Hickory Woods subdivision in South Buffalo. The five lots are 263-265 Mystic St., 92 Beacon St., 9 Beacon St., 10 Bell St., and 341 Abby St.

The agreement, finalized earlier this week, calls for the excavation of fill material on the lots down to native soils. The companies and BURA's voluntary agreement to perform this excavation was incorporated into an EPA administrative consent order that provides for EPA oversight of the work that will be performed.

The excavated fill will be transported to an offsite permitted landfill for disposal. The excavations will be filled with clean soil from an offsite source. The clean soil will be compacted to grade and seeded to promote a grass cover. It is expected that the restored lots will be reserved as green space in the neighborhood.

A public meeting with Hickory Woods residents and business owners will occur before the restoration work begins. U.S. EPA-approved health, safety, and air monitoring procedures will be followed during the restoration activities, and dust, stormwater, and erosion control measures will be employed. It is expected that the excavation portion of the project will take about 3 to 4 weeks. The entire restoration project may last up to 8 weeks.