Efforts persist to transform hazardous site
Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/54885/
The site of an abandoned, rusty metal building with broken windows and a history of environmental contamination could become a play area for Fayetteville in years to come and provide new access to the White River.
For now, the south Fayetteville location of the former R & P Electroplating Inc. is still considered a dangerous site by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, according to Hugh Earnest of Fayetteville.
“ ADEQ studies show there’s a slow migration of heavy metals to the White River but there’s no imminent danger, ” Earnest told the Northwest Arkansas Times.
The almost six acres of the former industrial site at 2000 Pump Station Road is protected by a wire fence topped with barbed wire where Pump Station Road meets the West Fork of the White River, across the road from the Pump Station Dam and the reservoir that served as Fayetteville’s first city source of drinking water.
Trees grow through the fencing. A “ Danger” sign attached to the fence is covered with vines and branches to the point that it is hardly noticeable. The gate stands open, wide enough to walk through, though not wide enough to drive through. Bent metal framing and rusted equipment can be seen from the fence line. Kneehigh weeds almost hide the former driveway.
In a memo to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, which met Monday, Earnest wrote that he would like to see the site reclaimed and cleaned, then transferred to the city.
“ While it is far too early to speculate on our success, we did want to assure the Commission that one of the uses that will be suggested in our proposal is the transfer of this site to the City of Fayetteville to integrate it within the trail and park system, ” Earnest wrote.
A portion of the property makes up the right field of a city baseball complex, and the land is near two trails: the Town Branch Creek Trail and the White River West Trail.
In his memo Earnest said he was allied with SA Development Co. in Baltimore to secure the land from the Office of the Commissioner of State Lands. The property is in possession of the state due to nonpayment of taxes.
Earnest, who was out of town and did not attend Monday’s commission meeting, was the city’s chief administrative officer when the city began applying for grants to clean the site.
In 2004, the Times reported that the company closed in 1977. More than 90 containers of hazardous substances, including cyanides and metal solutions, were discovered by city officials the following year.
Major environmental cleanup has been conducted since then, Earnest said Monday, but there is more to do, including razing the building and cleanup of residue in the building.
The intent is to submit a proposal to the state land commission on July 26, Earnest reported in his memo to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
“ There is a great deal of work to accomplish if and when we are successful in our negotiations with the state, ” he wrote. “ However, I did want to apprise you of our efforts in this area. We are hopeful that we will be able to work with the city on this project over the next several years. ”