BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- County officials are taking action to clean up two properties, one in the towns of Fine and the other in Potsdam, as part of a highly successful remediation program. 

County Attorney Steve Button was on hand during the June 29 Finance Committee meeting to make the request that legislators approve a contract with Odin Environmental LLC for the work. 

The properties, located at 463 Oswegatchie Trail Road, Fine, and 6917 State Highway 56, Potsdam, are both delinquent on properties taxes, with the property in Fine in arrears $20,494.15 in taxes and $33,731.40 in penalties and interest for a total of $54,226.05. 

The property in Potsdam is behind $11,347.60 in back taxes and $18,014.95 in penalties and fees for a total of $29,362.55. 

Button said both are prime candidates to be cleaned up and necessitate action by the county to do so. 

He said the county has undertaken projects like this before, typically in coordination with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. 

"As you know, the county has been engaged in a number of different properties for the last 12 years," Button said. 

He commented that the county has been heavily involved in such cleanups, working in conjunction with DEC officials, to cover phases one and two typically. 

Phase one is to gather a history of the properties, while phase two typically consists of an environmental review, such as drilling for samples, as well as the utilization of ground penetrating radar. Those actions are typically taken by the DEC, which works closely with the county. 

In this case, Button said the county undertook both themselves and found no leaks but did discover underground storage tanks (UST) that would need to be removed. 

"We did the original phases one and two for this project working in conjunction with the DEC, as well as our outside environmental council Gary Bowitch," Button said. 

Following that confirmation, Button said the county moved to solicit bids for cleanups at the sites. 

He said the resolution, which was approved unanimously, would allow the county to move forward with Odin in hopes of the firm cleaning up the sites by the end of summer so the county can add the properties to the September auction and get them back on the tax rolls for development. 

County officials have taken action on more than 100 blighted and contaminated properties over the last 12 years as part of programs Button has shepherded along. 

In many cases, funds for the cleanups have come directly from the state, with significant help from the state Comptroller's Office. 

Button previously told North Country This Week that assistance has been invaluable to the county. 

"They really have been great partners for the county and enabled us to move forward much faster on a number of projects, in particular contaminated projects that require significant environmental reviews and cleanups that have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars," he previously said. 

Some of the main culprits are former gas stations and dry cleaners, both of which can cause significant soil and ground water contamination. 

In the case of the two properties the county is taking action on, Button said both were former gas stations which have underground storage tanks that fortunately do not have leaks. 

The contract will come at a cost of $38,545 and will be paid from the Environmental Property Reserve Fund. 

The resolution to approve the contract will now move to the full board for final approval on July 6.

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