As contractors for Exxon Mobil Corp. prepare to tear down a dilapidated building at the former Vacuum Oil refinery in the city's southwest, the company will also focus on the pollution there.
Exxon Mobil recently reached an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to begin studying the extent of contamination at the 33-acre site.
Exxon Mobil previously submitted applications to enroll 5 Flint St. and nearby 15 Flint St., which it also owns, into the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program. Those applications and their cleanup plans have been accepted by the DEC. The company will be eligible to receive state tax credits once the property is cleaned up to help offset costs.
As part of the so-called order on consent with the DEC, Exxon Mobil will also pay the state $250,000 to reimburse it for costs of previous investigative and cleanup work at the sites.
Exxon Mobil bought the properties in 2023 from DHD Development. The local development firm had advanced plans to redevelop the parcels, but the project languished. A judge ordered DHD to sell the properties as part of a mortgage foreclosure case.
That June, the city filed a lawsuit to take the project through eminent domain. But the city ended that lawsuit after Exxon Mobil pledged to enroll the properties in the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program.
The city of Rochester sought control of the parcel so it could proceed with a project to rebuild the Genesee River wall adjacent to the property.
