After several years of negotiations, The Pine Street
Coordinating Council (BCCC) has recently received approval for an environmental
remedy and financial settlement for the Barge Canal Superfund Site. This will be
issued soon as a formal "Record of Decision" (ROD), which will then be
subject to public scrutiny before it is finalized. EPA has a goal of fall 1998
for completion of this work.
The ROD will include a redefinition of the Superfund
site removing six contiguous commercial properties from Superfund designation.
As a result, these properties will be redesignated as "brownfields".
Removing these properties from Superfund allows for developers to more easily
obtain insurance, financing, and regulatory approval for site plans. Deed
restrictions are now being developed to address the special environmental
conditions of these six properties including restriction on excavation and
loading.
Among these properties is an eight acre vacant lot owned
by the Davis Company which has significant potential for development. Davis has
recently proposed a supermarket. Past proposals have included a business
incubator building and an expansion of Specialty Filaments located across the
street. Several of these new brownfields properties are now in use, including
the Vermont Transit bus terminal, the Maltex Building, Farrell Distributing,
Citizen’s Oil, and the Burlington Street Department garage. Presumably, all
these properties will have increased value after the ROD is finalized, and their
use could change significantly in the next few years.
The ROD will include a subaqueous sand cap in the canal
itself which will prevent contamination from leaching into the water. In
addition, the site of the former gas plant (the source of the coal tar
pollution) will be capped as well. Improvements to the stormwater runoff from
Pine Street that empties into wetlands adjacent to the site will improve the
natural filtering that the wetlands provide. Additional moneys may be made
available for "supplemental projects" to improve the environmental
conditions within the watershed. Supplemental projects include:
Reduce the discharges of bacteria, sediment and other
pollutants to the brook and Lake Champlain. Reduce the incidence of high
runoff flows that cause erosion, property damage and stream channelization.
Restore impaired habitat to improve stream health.
Five-year program accessing the environmental health
of Lake Champlain and especially Burlington Bay. Involve schools and the
larger community in an effort to track the condition of the ecological
communities in the Lake.
Provide footpath and trail access to certain portions
of the site to enable area residents and visitors to take advantage of the
natural areas, historic value and educational opportunities the site provides.
Optimize the opportunities for redevelopment of
current site parcels. Analyze and summarize existing site data to determine
potential loading for structures and appropriate foundation designs that could
be utilized for different types of development.
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