NORTHERN VIRGINIA DAILY
Article date: April 13, 2002

Planting a legacy

Students join officials in preparing conservancy park at former Avtex site

By: Mary Jordan

Town and county government officials and A.S. Rhodes Elementary second graders gathered at the former Avtex site Friday afternoon to plant trees for the conservancy park, which will open to the public late next summer.

The 50-acre site located off Luray Avenue will be the first piece of the property to be given back to the public.

More than 4,300 trees were planted on 13 acres. The entire conservancy park area totals 220 acres, said Site Manager Doug Bement.

"This is the end of remediation and the beginning of building a conservancy park," Bement said. "I know many of you wondered when this day was gonna come. We have done it- this is a remediated site."

In January, FMC announced that some of the fly ash in that area had been removed and the land recontoured to allow for appropriate drainage. While not all of the fly ash was removed. Bement has said the remainder is "regulated waste," meaning it is not hazardous to people's health.

Bonnie Gross, the project manager for the Environmental Protection Agency, said portions of the site that are not quite ready will be fenced off to ensure that the entire area given back to the community next summer is safe.

A group of about 20 children ran excitedly around the area, planting trees and getting their photos taken.

Department of Environmental Quality Environmental Manager Ray Tesh said the children's role in the planting of the trees is a significant one.

"These children can come back as adults and say, 'I planted that tree', to their kids- it's a living legacy," Tesh said.

Fork District Supervisor John E. Vance agreed.

"It may not mean a whole lot to them today, but 10 years from now it will," he said.
The conservancy park, once completed, will provide biking and walking paths, areas for picnics and possibly a boat landing, said Warren County Parks and Recreation Director Dan Lenz.

While it has not been determined who will do the work, Lenz said it is a good possibility that Parks and Recreation may take over that responsibility.

Many people at the site on Friday afternoon were surprised to see the outcome of the work that has been going on for several years.

"I was surprised to see how nice it's gonna be around here," said North River School Board member Timothy Darr.

He added that the conservancy park will serve as a good teaching tool for science classes.

"Its gonna be very beneficial for the school system," he said.

The Avtex site has reached several other milestones in recent months. In early March, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources determined there was no significant historic impact in the archeological study area, which included 38 acres at the north-central corner of the site.

That portion of the property, which includes the former Avtex administration building, will become available for development as soon as it is "delisted" from the National priority List by the EPA.

Another milestone was the closure of four fly ash basins in mid-March, which encompassed 23 acres. Trees and grass were planted in that area.

"This is a very big site with a lot of big things going on," Bement said.