New Hope for Cleanup of Former NYSEG Plant in Westover

A long-running effort to remove hazardous substances from the old Goudey Station generating plant in the town of Union may be moving forward.

New York State Electric and Gas operated the coal-fired facility for several decades.

The property has been owned by a series of entities in recent years. The current owner is NRGY Development LLC of Florida.

Terry Kish of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently provided a status report to local officials.

Kish told WNBF News that the agency has been having conversations with the property owners in an effort to develop a plan to address remaining contamination at the site.

Kish said air sampling for asbestos is performed at the site every few months. He said the samples so far have not revealed any asbestos in the air.

Contractors visit the property every two or three months to repair fences that have been damaged by intruders. It's been difficult to secure the site from people who want to steal copper to sell to scrap dealers.

Town of Union supervisor Robert Mack met with Kish at the site to discuss cleanup efforts. He said the EPA has indicated the agency will take violations at the property "to a higher level," to require some type of action from the owner.

Mack said "it is an extremely dangerous location." He said "it is full of asbestos" and the ground has holes "that are at least 20 feet deep."

The town supervisor said conditions are so hazardous that Johnson City firefighters will no longer go onto the site to extinguish fires that are set by trespassers.

In the past, the village fire department has routinely responded to blazes that were ignited by people who were attempting to burn the insulation off copper wire they were preparing to steal.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: What the town of Union site looked like on September 9, 2025.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.