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The Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has accepted a Voluntary Remediation Program application submitted by the Business Development Corporation (BDC) of the Northern Panhandle to address environmental conditions at Beech Bottom Industrial Park in Brooke County.
The site is located at 8963 River Road in Beech Bottom and includes approximately 594 acres. The 200 acres west of State Route 2 have been operated by multiple owners for industrial uses, including the Wheeling Corrugating Company steel plant operations from 1910 until 2012. The 400 acres east of State Route 2 are currently undeveloped and unoccupied. However, the property has been subjected to deep and surface mining in the past, as well as had a former fueling station on site along State Route 2.
OER is currently negotiating a Voluntary Remediation Agreement (VRA) with the applicant.
Under the VRA, the applicant will work with the WVDEP to identify human health and ecological risks associated with current and potential future uses of the site; establish applicable remediation standards; and ensure that standards are maintained at the site. Upon completion of the remediation, a final report will be submitted to OER for review and approval.
West Virginia’s Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act encourages voluntary cleanups of contaminated sites, as well as redevelopment of abandoned and under-utilized properties, with an objective of counteracting the lack of development on sites with contamination or perceived contamination. By providing financial incentives to invest in brownfields, this approach protects communities and the environment while still promoting economic development in West Virginia.