Brownfield Advisory Committee Has First Meeting(posted May 6) Keith Veal of Sustainable Solutions received the nod from the Speedway Brownfield Advisory Committee on April 25th to perform a baseline environmental assessment of Speedway Industrial Park, Dotlich Inc. and Electric Steel Castings. This newly created entity is a direct result of The Speedway Redevelopment Commission (SRC) receiving a combined $230,000 EPA and IDEM Brownfield grant to assess property for environmental contamination. Through environmental mitigation efforts, the SRC's long-term goal is convert this potentially contaminated land into prime development property for the Speed Zone. This is part of the plan to expand Speedway's tax base. The formation of a Brownfield Advisory Committee is a requirement of the EPA in order to use the grant money. The group functions as the gatekeeper of information, Veal said. It will bring questions from the community and report on the status of the grant. "This is critical in EPA's eyes," he said. SRC member Vince Noblet agreed with Veal's recommendation to do a baseline environmental study because actual Phase 1 studies have a shelf life of 6 months. The Phase 1 often expires before the actual project begins. The project would need to start over with a new Phase 1 study. Noblet noted the SRC is not ready for any type of development, so Phase 1 would be wasting the grant money. Phase 1 requires an access to property and observation inspection. It also involves finding out prior uses of the land that could contribute to environmental damages. The baseline study allows Veal to do a title search without contacting the property owners. The title search can provide clues to past uses that occurred on the land. This information will be used to add to the Phase 1 study if it ever occurs. The SRC wants the potential contamination information to help guide with future development plans. The brownfield committee contemplated whether to include P.J. Cleaners on Main Street in the study. The dry cleaning solvents make it a candidate for a study to be conducted to see if there is potential contamination. Because of limited funding, an environmental assessment cannot be conducted for every parcel in the study. Veal recommended researching the original cleaner's insurance company. The courts have ruled that insurance companies are liable for environmental clean ups even after the policy has terminated. "This is a cash cow. These insurance companies just don't die. The policies are sold to other insurance companies," Veal said. The group also discussed the possibility of looking at Speedway Monogramming and 4501 W. 16th Street for environmental contaminants because both businesses were formally used as gas stations. Veal said petroleum businesses do not qualify for this particular grant. The group would need to apply for a petroleum grant unless they could prove that petroleum has been commingled with other hazardous materials. The group raised the issue that Autotech on Main Street might qualify as a co-mingled contamination. The group also agreed to pay Veal $5,000 for his scope of work to assess the machine shop on Cossell Road in a Phase 1 study. The town is interested in the possibility of purchasing the site to relocate the street department. The Phase 1 report indicated that some hazardous material maybe under the concrete. The walls need a cleanup along with some asbestos. The report stated the site's water test is equivalent to the town's water safety level. The EPA should reimburse Veal for the work. The next meeting is July 25 at 4 p.m. at the town hall. |
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