AGENDA #5e

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

                       

SUBJECT:       Report on University Response to Council Questions regarding Horace Williams Waste Disposal Sites

 

DATE:             February 10, 2003

 

This report follows up on the Council’s request for information regarding: (1) the University’s schedule for clean-up of the Chemical Site and Old Landfill Site on the Horace Williams property; and (2) the University’s potential funding sources to pay for the remediation.

 

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

 

On December 12, the Council received the attached status report on waste disposal sites on the Horace Williams property (Attachment 1).  Following discussion, the Council requested that the Mayor write Chancellor James Moeser to ask that the University: (1) determine a definite schedule for necessary clean-up of the sites; and (2) identify potential funding sources available to the University to pay for remediation work, including the potential for use of endowment funds (Attachment 2).  

 

On January 28, Mayor Foy received the attached letter from Chancellor Moeser (Attachment 3).  Chancellor Moeser said that the University has established a funding plan for remediation of the Chemical Site, thus enabling the University to begin negotiating a voluntary remediation agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).  The Chancellor also said that the University would provide the Town with a report on groundwater sampling when it is available.  The Chancellor’s letter stated that the University could be more specific with a remediation timeline after the agreement with DENR is negotiated.

 

Regarding the Old Landfill Site, the Chancellor stated that planning for Carolina North must be further along before determining remediation strategies.    

 

At the December 12 meeting, the Council also requested information about the Estes Drive Landfill Characterization Report issued by the N.C. Department of Transportation.  The University provided a copy of this report to the Town on December 13.  Town staff posted the information on the Town’s web site (www.townofchapelhill.org) during the week of December 16; the information is viewable by clicking on “What’s New?”.  A printed copy of the material is available in the Council’s Reading Room in Town Hall.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

We will continue to provide information on the Horace Williams sites as we receive it, and will follow up on other information as directed by the Council.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

1.  December 12, 2002 Status Report on Waste Sites at Horace Williams Property (p. 3).

2.  December 17, 2002 Letter from Mayor Foy to Chancellor Moeser (p. 5).

3.  January 27, 2003 Letter from Chancellor Moeser to Mayor Foy (p. 6).

 

 


ATTACHMENT 1

 

AGENDA #5c

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Status Report on Waste Sites at Horace Williams Property

 

DATE:             December12, 2002

 

 

The purpose of this report is to provide the most recent information that we have obtained regarding the waste disposal sites on the Horace Williams property. 

 

BACKGROUND 

 

On October 7, the Council received the attached report from the Manager on the status of two waste disposal sites at the Horace Williams property (Attachment 1).  The two sites are more formally known as the UNC Old Sanitary Landfill (Landfill Site) and the UNC Airport Waste Disposal Site (Chemical Site). 

 

  DISCUSSION

 

Brownfields Grants

 

At the Council’s request, we have researched the possibility of obtaining federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Brownfields” grants to assist the University in funding the clean-up of one or both sites.  In November, representatives of the Manager’s Office and the University Office of Environment, Health, and Safety attended the Brownfields 2002 Conference in Charlotte, which provided an overview of information about the Brownfields program. A Brownfields site is a property for which redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. 

 

Based on our research, we believe that the Town might be eligible to apply for an “assessment grant” to inventory, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement activities.  However, we do not believe that the Town would be approved for funding because the site already has been fully inventoried and assessed by the University, and the Town does not own or otherwise control the property.

 

We believe that the University may be eligible to apply for either of two types of assistance:

 

·        Revolving loan fund (RLF) grants, which enable owners of a site to capitalize a revolving loan fund and provide subgrants to carry out cleanup activities.  An RLF award requires a 20 percent cost share.   

·        Cleanup grants, which provide funding for the owners of a site to carry out cleanup activities at Brownfield sites.  As with RLF grants, cleanup grants require a 20 percent cost share. 

 

We understand that assistance may not be provided if the owner has other means of funding necessary work.

 

Mr. Peter Reinhardt, Director of the University Office of Environment, Health, and Safety, said that the University is not inclined to pursue Brownfields assistance at this time because of the program’s eligibility requirements. 

 

Chemical Levels

 

At the October 7 meeting, a Council member referred to the level of benzene at the Chemical Site, which exists at 142,000 times above the State standard, according to the Groundwater Sampling Report: November 2000 Sampling Event, provided by the University and available on the Town’s web site at www.townofchapelhill.org (listed under “What’s New?”).  According to Mr. Reinhardt, even though the benzene level is above the State standard, it is not considered a high risk, and the contamination has not migrated from the University property.  Mr. Reinhardt said that the sampling was conducted at the point closest to the source material, but this level decreased farther from the source and did not spread to any groundwater. 

 

Ms. Charlotte Jesneck, Head of the Inactive Hazardous Sites Branch of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), said that benzene has not been detected in the surface water and has not left the site.  She stated that the Horace Williams sites are not a top State clean-up priority at this point because many other sites across the State are considered more contaminated.

 

CONCLUSION

 

We will continue to provide information as we receive it, and we welcome other direction from the Council.  We also provide further information about the Underground Storage Tank at the Public Works site as Attachments 2-3 to this report.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

  1. October 7, 2002 Memorandum to the Mayor and Council (p. 3).
  2. December 4, 2002 Memorandum from Bruce Heflin (p. 10).
  3. October 29, 2002 Memorandum from Bruce Heflin (p. 11).