By Brad McElhinney
Daily Mail Staff
Charleston Daily Mail, Friday, June 27, 1997

Trees, traffic and timetables concerned about 30 people wondering about FMC's plans to clean up and develop a contaminated former plant site in South Charleston.

The curious, most of whom identified themselves as former FMC employees, attended a Thursday evening public meeting at South Charleston City Hall sponsored by FMC.

The company plans to clean the site of its former plant on MacCorkle Avenue across from the landmark mound. Eventually, FMC says, the land could be used for retail stores or warehouses.

FMC said it is still investigating the site and hasn't fully formed its plans. Officials said they probably won't actually start the cleanup until 1999.

The project falls under the state's new industrial reclamation law, commonly known as brownfields. Companies cleaning up polluted sites can be relieved of liability and regulatory punishment.

"It sounds very good," said Ed Sutton, 79, a former environmental manager for FMC. "That was home for me for over 40 years. I'm glad to see a good use for it."

Sutton wondered about an artist's rendering depicting a future tree-lined shopping center. "It's been my experience that this land is sterile," he said. "I can't conceive of that."

Company officials said it's too early to say whether such depictions will actually come true, but they said it would probably take quite a bit of topsoil to bring the mostly gravel site to life.

FMC used the site from 1948 until 1985 and then tore down its plant. Other companies used the site starting in 1906. It is contaminated by carbon tetrechloride, solvents and other volatile chemicals.

Resident Danny Woofter, who lives half a block from the site, said he wished the cleanup would move faster.

"That place provided jobs for years," he said. "It was a greater health hazard when it was in production. I'm just anxious to bring jobs to the community."

Woofter asked FMC representatives to consider a plan to ease traffic in the area if the site ever becomes a popular shopping center. He also asked for a buffer of trees between the site and neighborhoods.

Lloyd Miller, who owns N Visions Architects in South Charleston, attended the meeting because he was curious and because he wanted to find out about development opportunities.

"I thought it was an excellent opportunity to get public input," he said. "It shows good corporate citizenship on their part."

FMC has suggested the site as the potential home to retail stores, a warehouse and, maybe, a skating rink. The company is the first in the state to propose a brownfields project.

As FMC's plan develops, the state Division of Environmental Protection will have to oversee every step. FMC says its contamination probably won't hurt humans, but could damage the nearby ecosystem.

Investigations of the site will continue for the next couple of years, said Jim Bodamer, FMC's site remediation manager.

"It's not something that's going to happen overnight," Bodamer said.

People curious about the project can call FMC's information line at 744-5088.