Letters from NC Dept of Environment and Natural Resources on the Bingham Road properties.

Here is a copy of a letter to Dr. Baldwin concerning contamination issues at the Bingham Rd. location. This letter was sent to Dr. Baldwin back in early February.  I'll be posting test results from May 2012 sometime on Saturday.

Here is a link to a PDF file of the actual document PDF with NCDNR letterhead

February 8, 2012

Dr. Tony Baldwin, Superintendent, Buncombe County Schools

Administrative Services Building

175 Bingham Road

Asheville NC 28806

RE: Square D (former) 

128 Bingham Road, Asheville, Buncombe County, NC 

IHSB Incident # NCD00039591878

Champion Finishing Company (former)

200 Bingham Road, Asheville, Buncombe County, NC

IHSB Incident # NONCD0001162   Groundwater Incident #13982

Dear Dr. Baldwin:

On January 27, 2012, Division of Waste Management, Superfund Section’s Inactive Hazardous Sites Branch (IHSB) received a telephone call from a member of the school board regarding contamination in soil and groundwater at the former Square D plant at 128 Bingham Road.  The caller indicated that this property is currently owned by the Buncombe County Board of Education (BCBOE), which is using a building on the site for office space and planning to use the location for classrooms in the future,   This letter is to confirm that there has been a change in the planned future use of the Square D site from its previous use as an industrial facility to space that will be occupied by students. If this is correct, it will be necessary for IHSB to re-evaluate future environmental actions at this site, and the nearby former Champion Finishing site at 200 Bingham Road.  If this is not correct, please let me know immediately using one of the contact methods below.  

Initial investigation identified an additional site with documented contamination nearby, the former Champion Finishing plant at 200 Bingham road. In the week following this call, files for the Square D and Champion Finishing sites were obtained from Raleigh and are being reviewed.  The environmental consultants working on the referenced sites, and their clients, have been notified of a recent change in NCDENR staff assigned to these sites, and current contact information for all involved parties was obtained. 

The caller also inquired about possible environmental issues at 175 Bingham Road, also owned by BCBOE.  There is a potential for contaminants in groundwater to migrate from their original source onto nearby locations. IHSB will not be able to provide an answer regarding this specific location until a comprehensive review of all available documents has been completed.  It would be helpful in completing this sreview if you could provide information on the terms under which the BCBOE acquired the former Square D property, and current and planned future use of any former industrial buildings and parcels in the area that are owned by the BCBOE.  HSB will inform you when it has completed its review.  

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns please let me know.  I can be reached by phone at (704) 663-1699, by email at donna.decarlo@ncdenr.gov, or by using the mailing address or Fax number at the bottom of the first page of this letter.

Sincerely,

Donna DeCarlo, Hydrogeologist

Inactive Hazardous Sites Branch, 

Superfund Section

cc:  Mr. Bryce Wendland

Schneider Electric Company (Formerly Square D)

1717 Center Park Road

Lincoln, Nebraska  68512

Mr. Stephen Barrick

Arcadis US

801 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 300

Raleigh NC  27607-5243

Mr. Stephen R. Berlin

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

1001 West Fourth Street

Winston-Salem NC  27101-2400

Mr. Jerry Prosser, P.G.

ERM

800 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 200

Charlotte, NC   28226

WYSIWYG LLC

PO Box 15868

Asheville, NC 28813