In 1941 the Department of Defense (DOD) purchased 7,500 acres of land in Niagara County, on which was built the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW), for the purpose of manufacturing trinitrotoluene (TNT) during World War II. The TNT production, production support, and storage areas were constructed on approximately 2,500 acres. The remaining 5,000 acres, located to the west of the production area, were left undeveloped. During World War II, the Army manufactured TNT for about 9 months at a facility on the site, which included a power plant, hospital, fire department, water supply system, and waste treatment system.

The TNT plant was decommissioned in 1943. In 1945, 5,000 acres outside the production areas were declared excess and transferred to General Service Administration for disposal to private landowners. The remaining acres were used by various government agencies. As Department of Defense operations decreased, additional property was sold. Current owners of the site include the Lewiston-Porter Schools, local and federal governments, general residential areas, and private corporations.

Project Status

The USACE Buffalo District is conducting an environmental investigation at the former LOOW under the authority of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program Formerly Used Defense Sites (DERP-FUDS) program. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the nature and extent of contamination due to past defense activities and to assess the risks to human health and the environment. The scope of this investigation includes chemical contamination of soil, debris, surface water, groundwater, underground tanks, pipelines, ordnance and explosives. A similar investigation to determine the nature and extent of radiological contamination is being conducted on portions of the former LOOW under the FUSRAP Niagara Falls Storage Site project.

The DERP-FUDS project at the LOOW is presently in the Remedial Investigation (RI) phase. The USACE Buffalo District recently completed the Report of Results for the Remedial Investigation of Underground Utility Lines formerly used by the Department of Defense, LOOW. The electronic version of this report and the accompanying Human Health and Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessments are available at the links below. Copies of these reports are also available for review at the Administrative Record File locations listed in the next paragraph.

To learn more about what the USACE has already accomplished during its environmental investigation at the LOOW you may research our Administrative Record File. The USACE publishes its technical products, decision documents, and other supporting documents for the public in the Administrative Record File. The Administrative Record File for the LOOW site is available at the Lewiston Public Library, 305 South 8th Street, Lewiston, NY 14092 and the Youngstown Free Library, 240 Lockport Street, Youngstown, NY 14174.

News Releases

Sep 5, 2008	Corps Seeks Input for LOOW Outreach Program
Jul 17, 2008	Corps Awards two Contracts for former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Site
Jul 2, 2008	Corps Reviews Public Input - Decides Official DoD Restoration Advisory Board will not be formed for former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Site
Apr 1, 2008	Corps Seeks Stakeholder Interest in Establishing a Department of Defense Restoration Advisory Board for the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Site
Jan 29, 2008	Corps Announces Enhancement of Public Involvement Program for the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works Site
Mar 24, 2006	Corps Announces Community Relations Update on Former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works

Photos

No photos available at this time.

Documents

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on LOOW and NFSS (Jul 2008)

Fact Sheets:

LOOW Management Action Plan (MAP) Fact Sheet (Sep 2009)

LOOW Underground Utility Remedial Investigation Fact Sheet (May 2009)

LOOW Risk Assessment Fact Sheet (May 2009)

LOOW Site Fact Sheet (Mar 2009)

LOOW Military Munitions Archive Search Report (Mar 2009)

LOOW Phase IV Remedial Investigation (Jul 2008)

LOOW Underground Storage Tank Removal Project (Jul 2008)

LOOW Aerial Photography Fact Sheet (Oct 2002)

LOOW Waste Water Treatment Plant Fact Sheet (Sep 2002)

LOOW Background Sampling Fact Sheet (Aug 2001)

LOOW Ground Scar Sampling Fact Sheet (Jun 2001)

Historical Documents:

LOOW Construction Completion Report, Complete Vol. 1 (161.6MB) (Apr 1943)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Intro (6.5MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Purpose (4.1MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Land (12.4MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Soil Data (13.5MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Buildings (84.1MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Utilities (41.8MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol.1, Guarantees (0.8MB)
LOOW Construction Completion Report, Complete Vol. 2 (115.2MB) (Apr 1943)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Construction Data (58.3MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Organization Chart (0.3MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Field Progress Report (12.8MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Construction Photos (17.6MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Financial Data (1MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Certificate of Completion (3.6MB)
     LOOW Construction Completion Report, Vol. 2, Appendix (20.8MB)

History of the Northeast Chemical Warfare Depot (Jan 2008)

Environmental Investigations:

LOOW Management Action Plan (MAP) - Vol. 1 (4 MB) (Oct 2009)
     LOOW Management Action Plan (MAP) - Vol. 2 (27 MB) (Oct 2009)
     LOOW Management Action Plan (MAP) - Vol. 3 (27 MB) (Oct 2009)

Summary of Human Health & Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessments (3 MB) (May 2009)
     Human Health Risk Assessment for Select Exposure Units (22 MB) (Dec 2008)
     Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessment for Select Exposure Units (2 MB) (Dec 2008)

Underground Utility Remedial Investigation Report - Vol. 1 (83 MB) (Sep 2008)
     Underground Utility Remedial Investigation Report - Vol. 2 (119 MB) (Sep 2008)
     Underground Utility Remedial Investigation Report - Vol. 3 (43 MB) (Sep 2008)
     Underground Utility Remedial Investigation Report - Vol. 4 (76 MB) (Sep 2008)
     Underground Utility Remedial Investigation Report - Vol. 5 (161 MB) (Sep 2008)

Community Involvement:

LOOW & NFSS Workshop - LOOW Presentation (1.6MB) (Sep 2009)
     LOOW & NFSS Workshop - LOOW Handouts (3.3MB) (Sep 2009)
     LOOW & NFSS Workshop - LOOW Posters (12.5MB) (Sep 2009)
     LOOW & NFSS Workshop - Transcript (Sep 2009)

LOOW Technical Project Planning (TPP) Meeting - Presentation (2.9MB) (Mar 2009)
     LOOW TPP Meeting - Posters (5.4MB) (Mar 2009)
     LOOW TPP Meeting - Handout (2.0MB) (Mar 2009)
     LOOW TPP Meeting - Meeting Summary (Mar 2009)

DOD Restoration Advisory Board Final Rule (Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, Part 202) (May 2006)

DOD Restoration Advisory Board Rule Handbook (Mar 2007)

Public Participation in the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Utilized Defense Sites (EP 1110-3-8) (Apr 2004)

Scopes of Work / Work Plans

Phase IV Remedial Investigation Work Plans
     Field Sampling Plan (4.2MB) (Jun 2009)
     Quality Assurance Project Plan (39.7MB) (Jun 2009)
     Site Safety and Health Plan (13.8MB) (Jun 2009)
     Radiation Safety Plan (2.0MB) (Jun 2009)
     Munitions and Explosives of Concern Support Plan (0.5MB) (Jun 2009)
     Asbestos Containing Material Removal Plan (1.7MB) (Jun 2009)
     Human Health Risk Assessment Work Plan (0.8MB) (Jun 2009)
     Screening-Level Ecological Risk Assessment Work Plan (0.2MB) (Jun 2009)

LOOW Underground Storage Tank Removal Work Plans (Sep 2008)

LOOW Underground Storage Tank Removal Scope of Work (Jun 2008)

LOOW Phase IV Remedial Investigation Scope of Work (Jun 2008)

(All document files are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Personal information is redacted from online electronic versions of documents.)

Links

DERP-FUDS Information:

• Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP)
• Army Corps of Engineers DERP-FUDS Program Page

Project Partners:

• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• New York State Department of Health