Facet Enterprises, Inc.

Overview

The Facet Enterprises, Inc. site sits in Elmira Heights, New York, less than 200 feet from the nearest home, with about 1,000 people within a quarter-mile and six schools within a mile. Industrial operations there from 1929 to 1978 left behind cyanide salts, heavy metal sludges, spent solvents, and oils that contaminated soil, sediment, and groundwater. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. The NPL is the EPA's roster of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country.

More than 180 chemicals have been identified as contaminants of concern. These include chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and 1,2-dichloroethane, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene, ethylbenzene, and toluene. Metals including arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury are present, along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalates. Trichloroethene has also been detected as a vapor intrusion concern, meaning its vapors can move from contaminated soil and groundwater up into buildings through cracks and openings.

The EPA selected a cleanup plan in 1992 covering soil excavation, capping, groundwater treatment, and institutional controls that restrict access to contaminated groundwater. A groundwater treatment system has run since 1997, and construction of the main remedial work was completed in 2000. Since 2007, the EPA has sampled more than 300 properties for VOCs and installed vapor mitigation systems at about 80 properties where intrusion was found. A separate cleanup decision for vapor intrusion was finalized in September 2021, and that remedial action began in June 2022 and is still underway. In 2021, the EPA also reached an agreement with a potentially responsible party to investigate groundwater contamination that has moved beyond the former facility. Residents get drinking water from the municipal water system.

The site's current status is mixed. Physical cleanup construction is complete for the entire site, and about half of the property is actively used, with Motor Components, LLC operating a manufacturing facility there. However, the EPA reports insufficient data to determine whether human exposure is under control or whether groundwater migration is stabilized, and the site has not been deleted from the NPL. Sampling of additional properties for vapor intrusion continues, and further work on off-property groundwater is expected to run through at least 2028. The next formal five-year review is estimated for 2027.

Community members who want to stay involved can participate through the EPA's Community Involvement Program. Site records are available for public review at the Town Clerk's office at Horseheads Town Hall, 150 Wygant Road, Horseheads, New York 14845.