ChemLines, Volume 1, Number 3
Fall, 1997

After many decdes of operation, FMC razed its "East Plant" facility on South Charleston's MacCorkle Avenue, leaving a flat, barren plot of land surrounded by chain link fence.

Since the plant's demolition in 1984-85, the Legislature passed a law which will allow that property and other contaminated sites, known as "brownfields" to be redeveloped and put back to productive use. Similar versions of this legislation are in use or are being developed around the country.

"These contaminated properties could be unsuitable for many reasons," said Jim Bodamer, FMC's remediation project manager. "It could have been the site of a gas station with leaking underground tanks, or it could have been the site of a major chemical facility."

Bodamer said the latter instance is the case with the 27-acre FMC brownfield site, the location of a major chemical facility for most of this century.

Due to stringent and standardized federal regulations, sites like the one at FMC previously could only be redeveloped at great cost and risk. No matter what the intended purpose for the cleaned up land redevelopers had to meet standard federal guidelines used for all purposes, from residential to industrial.

Bodamer said the brownfields legislation allows contaminated property to be redeveloped on a "risk-based" program. In other words, it creates varying degrees of clean-up standards to accompany various end uses to the redeveloped property.

"There is a lot of flexibility in this law," said Bodamer, who added that developers may even use varying standards to clean up different portions of a brownfield site for different uses.

He said this could turn out to be the case at the FMC site, the state's first attempt to implement the new brownfields legislation. One of the possible alternative uses for the redeveloped property involves a mix of industrial, commercial and recreational activities, incorporating an FMC facility, commercial and retail locations, and a recreational facility such as an ice arena.

"We want this site to be returned to productive use," said Bodamer. "The 'risk-based' program allows us to clean up the property to the standard of its end use."

According to the DEP's Ken Ellison, more than 20 groups, representing industry, environmental concerns, state agencies and communities, participated in the drafting of the legislation which passed lawmakers' muster with few changes.

"The community involvement factor increased the public's confidence that the program would be well-balanced," said Ellison. "The participants had the opportunity to get the issues out on the table in order to set forth the clear-cut standards to be met."

The community involvement doesn't end there, according to both Bodamer and Ellison.

The legislation called for the establishment of rules regarding the implementation of brownfields remediation, including altering policies and procedures as scientific testing methods advanced.

These certain changes will come under the review of the steering committee which helped draft the legislation and the accompanying rules. Comprised of members from all walks of life - bankers, real estate developers, environmentalists, attorneys, state officials, citizen groups - the committee is broken up into four subcommittees: legal, public involvement, administration and standards.

"Basically, anyone with a stake in redeveloping these properties has a place on the committee," said Bodamer.

Also, a similar group is forming to provide input on the continual update of the policies as well as the development of the cleaned up property. Called the East Plant Public Advisory Group, it will provide a forum for concerns from everyone involved with the property and its remediation.

Bodamer said this legislation also includes a component which relieves brownfields redevelopers from much of the liability formerly associated with contaminated property remediation.

"When contaminated property is redeveloped," said Bodamer, the state's Division of Environmental Protection will issue a certificate of completion showing that the property has been cleaned up to the standard of its end use."

Previously, developers of contaminated property were liable for contamination which occurred prior to their ownership and redevelopment. With the DEP certification, the property is cleared for its intended use after having been cleaned up to the appropriate standards.

These new laws and their accompanying rules, however, are just minimum standards. Bodamer said FMC is "taking it a litter further than the law requires."

"We're involving the public and the community in our redevelopment," he said. "We've contacted our neighbors, the city, and former and current FMC employees."

He said that FMC has held many community meetings and even started a repository at the public library for public access to documents and information on the property remediation.

"We want the community's involvement," said Bodamer. "We want to work with the community and put something there that they want."