NORTHERN VIRGINIA DAILY

Article Date: March 22, 2003

Avtex cleanup progressing, but more demolition funds needed

FMC has decontaminated a quarter of the 220 acres on the western portion of the property along the Shenandoah River, which will someday be part of a proposed conservancy park.

By:  Mary Beiler

While federal funds are needed to complete the demolition of buildings at the Avtex Superfund site, cleanup of the area is progressing.

Doug Bement, the site manager for FMC Corp., said he has gotten feedback from residents who are concerned about funding for the cleanup, but added that the work is a separate project from the demolition. Funding is not an issue for cleanup work because it has already been secured, he added.

However, if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has to “demobilize,” or cease its work, it could affect decontamination efforts because FMC cannot clean certain areas until the buildings are removed.

“It’s not financial to me, it’s logistics,” Bement said.

Demolition at the site may come to a halt by summer’s end if further federal funding does not become available.  By the end of summer, the corps will have used up the $12 million allocated for asbestos abatement and demolition of the industrial buildings at the former rayon plant, according to Front Royal Warren County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Stephen A. Heavener.

The corps announced in October that the $12 million originally allocated for asbestos abatement and demolition would not be enough to complete work at the site, adding that an additional $10 million is needed to finish the job.

The need for the extra funding was determined after the Corps of Engineers performed a study in early 2001 that uncovered additional asbestos.  The agency found more asbestos in the roofs of the buildings and more piping that was anticipated, according to agency officials.

The $12 million figure was an estimate made in 1998, prior to the detailed on-site analysis.

Without further funds the corps would have to demobilize work on site, pushing back other areas of the redevelopment — such as the decontamination — even though the projects are independent of each other.

The worst-case scenario, according to Bement, is that FMC could have to cease work at the end of 2004 if the corps is unable to obtain further funding.

“At the end of ‘04, if [ the corps doesn’t] get funding on the horizon, it could be as fare as I can be [on progress],” Bement said.

FMC has decontaminated a quarter of the 220 acres on the western portion of the property along the Shenandoah River, which will someday be part of a proposed conservancy park.  Within the next year, another 25 percent will have been decontaminate, Bement said.

Progress has also been make on demolition, as the corps approaches completion of phase one.  By the end of April, 15 of the 25 acres of remaining buildings will have been demolished.  The extra $10 million the corps is asking for will cover demolition for the remaining 10 acres.

While the additional $10 million— due in large part to an onsite power plant — is needed to complete asbestos abatement and demolition.  Heavener has noted that the corps will not need that money all on one year in order to keep working.  Once the money is allocated, a schedule can be obtained as to what amount of money will be needed for each fiscal year.

Heavener has said he remains optimistic that the federal government will come through with funding.

“We have every expectation that the money needed for demolition will be forthcoming from the federal budget,” he has said.