As soon as construction starts at 726 University Ave, we should have a better idea about the source of the recently discovered oil in Fall Creek. From the Cornell Chronicle:
“We won’t be sure until we start digging out a larger area whether the contamination at the Fall Creek site is related to the site of an oil tank that was removed in 1995 or some other source,” said Steve Beyers, environmental engineer in Cornell’s Office of Facilities Engineering. “From the reports filed at the time and from our recent investigations, we think that the contaminated soil has remained in the same area for years — until the March spring thaw.”
But there’s more to this story than just a leaky pipe. The last Sun article on the subject suggested the possibility of a nefarious coverup on the part of the university:
Additionally, Hang [president of a local environmental advocacy group] alleges the absorbant booms placed in Fall Creek to control the contamination were placed before Cornell reported the oil sheen to the DEC. This would mean Cornell knew about the oil sheen but did not report it to the DEC, Hang said.
The now “investigative” construction work is set to begin on Monday.
