The Warren Sentinel

December 9, 2010

Release of 160 acres may take place by June

By Angelee Barbazon

FRONT ROYAL — Less than one year remains until roughly 160 acres of the Avtex Fibers Superfund site could be given a nod for redevelopment, according to geologist and site manager John Torrence.

Torrence, who has spent the past 11 years working at the site, updated area residents Dec. 4 on the cleanup efforts at the 440-acre property near Kendrick Lane. What once served as home to a flagship rayon manufacturing plant and eventually became an environmental hazard could become a vital part of Front Royal’s development in the next few years, he said.

The U.S. Department of Defense began operating the plant in 1940 to produce rayon, a durable silky material used to make parachutes, sterile bandages and gear for the military during World War II. Chemical manufacturer FMC Corp. owned the plant from 1963 to 1976 and sold it to Avtex Fibers, which went bankrupt and closed the plant in 1989 after a series of environmental and safety violations. Because Avtex ceased to exist, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named FMC as the primary responsible party and forced the company to finance the cleanup efforts at the site.

Though the Avtex site is not the most contaminated Superfund site, it is the largest in EPA’s Region 3, which covers Delaware, Washington D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. More than 200,000 tons of waste material and contaminated soils have been removed from the site, according to the EPA. EPA toxicologist Dawn Ioven said at a public forum earlier this year that experts found 22 chemicals in the groundwater at the site, which include potential cancerous and non-cancerous risks. Ioven noted that the risks are “theoretical” because no one is currently using the water at the site.

FMC’s cleanup efforts could span more than 30 years, Torrence said.

“The site is not considered cleaned up until the groundwater contamination issue has been resolved, and that just by its nature will take decades,” said Torrence, who works for Environmental Resources Management.

The Front Royal-Warren Economic Development Authority owns the property and hopes to market about 160 acres to new businesses and eventually bring more jobs to the area. Torrence said remediation for that portion of the site is scheduled to wrap up by June.

Torrence said the Avtex site is relatively unique because the land is going to be redeveloped.

“I’ve been in this industry for 21 years, and typically what happens at a Superfund site is when the cleanup is done, a fence is put up and once a year a groundwater sampling team comes in and samples the wells, they cut off the locks because they’re rusty and they replace them with new ones when they leave and then they shut the gate,” he said.

Limitations are placed on the property’s uses. Some restrictions prohibit schools, packing plants, homes, hospitals and meeting halls. James Madison University is interested in using space as a satellite campus for its adult degree program, but the property’s restrictions have halted progress for the project until its covenants are revised. Any amendments must be approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and finalized by the Department of Justice.

About 40 acres were released for use in 2006 when the soccer fields near Kerfoot Avenue opened. A conservancy area totaling about 240 acres is slated to open by spring 2014, Torrence said. The conservancy area will be open to the public and include a walking trail along the Shenandoah River.

Torrence said he is continually pleased with the different levels of government working in harmony with each other.