DOH working with DEP to clean up Taylor County site

 

The West Virginia Department of Transportation is working with the state Department of Environmental Protection to address environmental conditions at a site on Sycamore Street in Grafton.

The DEP’s Office of Environmental Remediation has negotiated a Voluntary Remediation Agreement with the DOT’s Division of Highways concerning the 2.8-acre site, which is currently unoccupied.

The Division of Highways is working with the DEP to address environmental conditions at the site associated with the operation of gasoline and diesel fuel underground storage tanks; one above ground tar storage tank; a salt shed for the storage of road treatment chloride compounds; and the use of oils and greases, which may have contained heavy metals.

Chemicals of concern include petroleum hydrocarbons commonly associated with the storage and dispensing of gasoline and diesel fuel; petroleum hydrocarbons associated with the storage and use of petroleum based tar; heavy metals associated with the use of oils and greases; and chlorides associated with the storage of salt used for highway maintenance in the winter.

The DEP’s Voluntary Remediation Program encourages voluntary clean-ups of contaminated sites, as well as the redevelopment of abandoned and under-utilized properties in the hope of counteracting the lack of growth on sites with contamination, or perceived contamination. The Voluntary Program seeks to identify and address potential contamination at a given site. It also sets applicable remediation standards and confirms that the site maintains these standards.

As long as a company is following all the rules and regulations of the Voluntary Program, typical DEP enforcement actions, as well as liability under environmental laws, will be limited while the company cleans up a site. The Voluntary Program also gives companies the ability to redevelop sites with existing industrial infrastructure at a lower price, and provides financial incentives to invest in Brownfields.

For more information contact either: Pasupathy Ramanan, Project Manager; WVDEP, DLR/OER, 2031 Pleasant Valley Road, Suite #1, Fairmont, WV 26554 (304) 368-2000, Ext. 3730; or Sajid Barlas, Project Manager, WVDOH, Environmental/Chemistry Unit, Materials Control, Soils and Testing Section, 190 Dry Branch Road, Charleston WV 25301, (304) 558-7474 or John M. Meeks, Triad Engineering, Inc., Triad Engineering, Inc., 4980 Teays Valley Road, Scott Depot, WV 25560, (304) 755-0721.

Contact:

Tom Aluise
304-926-0499
Thomas.J.Aluise@wv.gov