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Frontier Hard Chrome Buildings Demolished, Cleanup Underway The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun an innovative cleanup at the Frontier Hard Chrome (FHC) site in Vancouver. This former chrome-plating site is contaminated with hexavalent chromium, the chemical made famous in the movie “Erin Brockovich.” If not controlled, the chemical could migrate into surface or groundwater sources and threaten human health and the environment. Recently, the EPA demolished two buildings that sat over the most contaminated “hot spot” of the former FHC site. With the buildings out of the way, the EPA is injecting a reducing agent into the ground that will change the highly toxic hexavalent chromium into the non-toxic trivalent chromium. The first injections are forming an underground barrier wall about 150 feet long to keep contamination from spreading. After removing the buildings’ foundations, the EPA will mix reducing agents into the newly exposed soil to a depth of 30 feet in some areas. The agency expects to finish treating the remaining soil and groundwater throughout the “hot spots” by September. “This is a new cleanup process,” says EPA Project Manager Sean Sheldrake. “This modern technology is allowing us to clean up this site in a very effective way. We’ll be monitoring the results over the long term. And when we walk away, we’ll leave behind a much safer site.” The Frontier Hard Chrome site is about a half-mile north of the Columbia River. Chrome plating operations took place at this site between 1958 and 1982. FHC operated at the site from 1970 to 1982, discharging hexavalent chromium to an on-site dry well. Concerned that contaminated water could reach the Columbia River or drinking water wells, the EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1983. When first detected, seriously contaminated groundwater extended about 1600 feet southwest from the facility. Subsequent monitoring indicates that the area of groundwater contamination has changed in size and shape over time. The “hot spot” under the site, however, has shown consistently high levels of chromium. In the 1980s, the EPA evaluated ways to clean up contamination, but the agency was not able to find a cost-effective cleanup option at that time. Also, since the groundwater plume was decreasing, EPA did not move forward with groundwater cleanup. EPA and the Washington Department of Ecology removed some contaminated surface soil from the site in 1994 and continued monitoring and evaluating new cleanup technologies. Now that this new treatment technology is available, EPA can move forward with the cleanup. For more information, visit the EPA Region 10 website. Tribal Environmental and Natural Resources Assistance Handbook is Available Online Developed by the Domestic Policy Council Working Group on American Indians and Alaska Natives, The Tribal Environmental and Natural Resources Assistance Handbook is available online. The handbook is a compilation of federal sources of financial and/or technical assistance programs available for tribal environmental management. The handbook benefits tribal environmental staff and informs federal, regional, state, and local government employees about the sources of environmental assistance available in order to improve customer service to the tribes. A section on the EPA is included in the handbook. Sources of assistance span various environmental categories including air, water, plants and animals, toxic/hazardous waste, solid waste, pollution prevention, emergency preparedness and response, and environmental education. The document is available at http://www.epa.gov/indian/tribhand.htm,
by contacting the EPA American Indian Environmental Office, 401
M Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460, or through Tonya Fish at (202)
260-0769 or fish.tonya@epa.gov. Phase I and Phase II ESAs Completed on Ellis Pecan Site In August 2000, the Ellis Pecan building was entered into the city of Fort Worth’s Brownfields Redevelopment Program. The Ellis Pecan building was constructed as a Ku Klux Klan hall in May 1924, fire bombed in November 1924, and rebuilt and used as a boxing arena in the mid-1930s. Ellis Pecan operated its pecan shelling business at the site from 1946 through early 1999. Located on North Main about midway between the Trinity River and the Stockyards, this beautiful old building lies within an area of the city targeted for brownfields identification and assessment. A private environmental consultant conducted a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) for the property owner, Hammons Products. The Phase I report on the building identified several potential environmental conditions that warranted further investigation through a Phase II ESA. Simply stated, a Phase II ESA characterizes a site through the use of sampling and laboratory analysis. Investigators collect samples of soil, groundwater, stream sediment, waste stored at a site, and other materials that might shed light on environmental contamination. Gideon Toal, the prospective buyer of the Ellis Pecan building, was on a short time frame when the building became involved in the redevelopment program. The parties involved worked quickly to complete the Phase II ESA before critical dates in the sales contract passed. Cooperation among the involved parties resulted in the site assessment being completed within the allotted time, thus allowing Gideon Toal to close on the property on schedule. The stakeholders consisted of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the city of Fort Worth, Hammons Products, Gideon Toal, Fort Worth’s contractors, IT Group (and their subcontractor LCA Environmental), Rone Engineers (and their subcontractor Terra-Mar) and ERMI Environmental Laboratory. During the Phase II ESA, three temporary monitoring wells were installed on-site to collect soil and groundwater samples. This subsurface investigation was done to determine whether a petroleum company and filling station that had operated southwest of Ellis Pecan had impacted the site. Additionally, a sample of oil was collected from the hydraulic elevator’s fluid reservoir to determine the presence of PCBs, and floor drains were smoke tested to determine whether they were properly connected to the sanitary sewer system. Based on laboratory analysis and other findings, the recommendation of the Phase II ESA report was that no further action was needed on the identified areas of potential concern. The Phase II ESA was funded by an EPA grant given to Fort Worth Department of Environmental Management. Gideon Toal plans to renovate the building into office space. For photos and contact information, visit http://www.forthworthgov.org/dem/brownfields_projects_ellis.htm BEDI Grant Cleans Up Site, Preserves History, and Creates Jobs The Wheeling Stamping Building had been abandoned and deteriorating for more than a decade in the Historic Warehouse District of Wheeling, West Virginia. The city used an EPA Brownfield Pilot Assessment grant to finance site investigation and the development of a remediation plan for the site, which is located in the Wheeling National Heritage Area. In 1999, Wheeling submitted an application for a $1 million Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grant and $2.25 million in Section 108 guaranteed loan assistance for the redevelopment of the building. The city and its developer, the Ohio Valley Industrial and Business Development Corporation, proposed the creation of 88,000 square feet of new commercial space in the Stamping Building. The renovation of the building was completed in early 2001 and is, today, home to the high-tech Global Operations Center for the international law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe. Eighty-five employees currently staff the Center with a total of 250 new jobs to be created at the Center by 2005. To learn more about the Wheeling Stamping Building
project, contact: City of Hartford Develops West End Neighborhood The city of Hartford’s Department of Housing and Community Development (Property Acquisition and Disposition Division) utilized $25,000 from a U.S. EPA Brownfield Assessment Pilot to conduct an environmental site assessment of the “Goodwin Estates” property in 1997. In 2000, the city also received $250,000 from the Capital City Economics Development Authority (CCEDA) to fund other assessment work and remove the asbestos, oil tanks, and transformers. The city utilized these funds to determine if contamination from a dumpsite and the on-site laboratories existed. In the summer of 2004, the redevelopment of this site will be complete and will consist of a converted historical mansion with seven condos, meeting space, and a health club for the residents. Twenty additional buildings will house 56 new townhouses on the 17-acre property. In the West End neighborhood in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, the “Goodwin Estates” property has been an eyesore since the University of Connecticut abandoned their agricultural facilities in 1989. The property at 1280 Asylum Avenue housed chemical laboratory facilities in the 1960s and 1970s. Remnants of a historical mansion (built in the 1920s) and contaminated soil remained. Realizing the property had potential for redevelopment, the city of Hartford’s original plan was to clean up the property and build 63 luxury apartments. Shortly after the site was abandoned in 1989, the city of Hartford purchased the property. The mansion burned down prior to the city’s purchase of the land. Following purchase, the city conducted some preliminary demolition and cleanup of what remained of the interior of the mansion and removed asbestos from the site. The preliminary cleanup costs were about $250,000 and the city funded the cost through state bond funds and state brownfields funds. The city also demolished two sheds on the property that were already in disrepair. During the removal process, the city found oil burners, metals, and other contaminants. The city solicited a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the remaining cleanup work (including cleaning up what was found in the removal process) and redevelopment of this site in late 2000 and early 2001. The city awarded the bid to Ginsburg, a development company, and the contractor broke ground on the project in January 2003. The redevelopment of the site will be complete in the summer of 2004 and will improve the appearance of the former brownfield site. Anticipated sale prices of the townhouses in the development will range from $368,000 to $423,000 and the condominiums in the mansion will range from $266,000 to $320,000. This project will increase property tax revenue by approximately $400,000. The city of Hartford successfully collaborated with U.S. EPA, Capital City Economics Development Authority (a quasi-public authority formed to direct State-supported economic development projects), and many city departments in the cleanup and redevelopment of the property. For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/newengland/brownfields/success/hartford_goodwin_estates.htm |
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