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About the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW) Site
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.
Community Involvement
Buffalo District Commander Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Daniel B. Snead thanks those from the community that provided input regarding the establishment of an official Department of Defense (DoD) Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) for the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW) Site. After a careful consideration of the input received in accordance with the applicable regulations, LTC Snead has decided not to establish an official DoD RAB at this time.
Under current DoD rules, an official DoD RAB would only be able to address issues with the former LOOW Site under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites which would not meet the needs of the community and local stakeholders regarding the Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS). This decision means that for the next 24 months, the Buffalo District will continue to hold periodic discussion workshops with the local community on both the LOOW and NFSS sites.
There are highly interested members of the community and stakeholders that seek to contribute their expertise on technical issues in greater detail. The Buffalo District will engage the community regarding expectations and options available to establish facilitated technical discussions as part of the outreach program for these sites during our next workshop.
To view additional information on this decision, please click below:
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.
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