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Article date:
Mid April 2008
Avtex Superfund
stakeholders unite on site plans
Consistency on allowed uses
sought for commercial development By Jessica
Coleman The Warren
County Economic Development Authority is trying to decide how to
fill in a long ditch left by the excavation of several feet of
sewer lines on the Avtex Superfund site dubbed the “big dig”. Under a
mandate by the Environmental Protection Agency, FMC, the company
responsible for the cleanup, began filling in a portion of the
big dig last week with large pieces of concrete that would
otherwise be left in a pile on the site.
FMC will not dispose of the concrete if it is not used to
fill the ditch, John Torrence, site manager for the company,
said at an EDA meeting Friday. Torrence
said the EPA and FMC were trying to come up with the best
solution for redevelopment by getting rid of the substantial
amount of concrete by burying it out of sight.
The EDA, however is concerned that voids caused by
settling of the large concrete pieces could create a problem
should development occur on that portion of the Avtex site. “I could
see it being a potential problem down the road,” Torrence said.
“Now is the time to ask the questions.” So far, FMC
has not filled the ditch with very much concrete, Torrence said,
but until he gets a new mandate from the EPA saying it is OK to
do otherwise, he is required to continue the work. That is why
it is necessary for EDA officials, if they do not want the ditch
filled with concrete, to contact the EPA to get the order
changed. “Our
marching orders come from people way above my head,” Torrence
said. “The sooner
you get in touch with the EPA the better.” Another
option for the disposal of the concrete could be to crush the
material into smaller pieces to eliminate any possible settling,
and then use it to fill the ditch and cover it with soil.
It is unknown if it would be cost effective to pursue
that at this time, Torrence said. If the
concrete is not used in the ditch, however, it will remain on
the site and will not be removed by FMC, he said.
This could present a problem when trying to interest
investors in the property, he said, which is why the EPA and FMC
had decided to bury it. However, if
the concrete needs to be disposed of from a redevelopment
viewpoint, EDA board member Frank O’Reilly said he thought it
would be easier to do that if the concrete was above ground,
even though it might be an eyesore. “Piles of
concrete lying around is always an issue,” said Mike South, the
EDA’s interim executive director. It makes
little difference to FMC what is used to fill the ditch,
Torrence said. He
said he doesn’t think it will make much difference to the EPA
either, but the agency needs to be contacted in order to change
the plans. “If you
think it’s better to put strictly soil down there it makes no
difference to me,” Torrence said.
“It costs the same.” But, in the
end the decision will be based on what will be necessary for a
successful redevelopment.
South said he plans to call the EPA at the beginning of
this week to discuss the options available. “Anything
to do with concrete boils down to this: what’s in the best
interest of redevelopment and what will the board accept,”
Torrence said. |