DEC to clean up contaminated parcel in Parishville

PARISHVILLE — A corner lot in the hamlet with two fuel tanks and a hydraulic vehicle lift buried underground will be cleaned up by the state Department of Environmental Conservation as part of a federal stimulus fund initiative.

The 0.23-acre parcel of land is across from the Parishville Town Hall and for generations was the location of a garage and gas station.

The pumps and garage have been gone for years, but DEC officials say there are still two 1,000-gallon fuel tanks, a hydraulic car lift and oil and other contaminants in the ground. The property has been vacant for more than a decade and unmarketable because of the contamination, according to town Supervisor Jerry G. Moore.

The property is owned by William R. Ashlaw, according to town and county officials, although property taxes have not been paid on the parcel for 15 years.

The St. Lawrence County treasurer's office said $46,641.66, including fees, is owed on the lot, dating back to 1995.

County Treasurer Robert O. McNeil said Friday that it's unclear what will happen to the site once DEC remediates it, although there is a strong possibility the county will move to seize the land and put it up for auction to recoup back taxes. Mr. McNeil said in the past that the county had no interest in acquiring the property because of the cost to taxpayers for cleaning up the site.

Stephen W. Litwhiler, a spokesman for DEC, said the parcel has been on the state's radar as a brownfield needing cleanup for several years. But, he said, the plot's small size kept it on the back burner until a recent influx of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money into the department.

He said New York received $9.2 million of some $200 million in federal stimulus money earmarked for removing and cleaning up leaking underground petroleum tanks. Mr. Litwhiler said remediation of the Parishville site should begin this week.