Thursday, September 14, 2006

20th Century Commodity Thinking

The following entry was made on August 7th but had to be edited. Due to a technical problem, it could not be resubmitted to the site. Here is a refresher on that information.

Dunkley Avenue was named after the President of the Dunkley-Williams Transportation Company and the Dunkley Preserving Company. This street ran by the wetland called “Celery Pond” because it was used for raising celery in the beginning of the 20th century and for many years. By the 1950s the area became a mecca for different industrial operations.

A Prism Science and Technology report (April 8, 2003) itemized the history of many of these facts. “The nature of the Pond Parcel as a groundwater/surface water discharge location and the proximity of these industrial properties was identified as an REC based on the potential hazardous materials to have been released or discharged and the potential for migration to the study area through groundwater or surface water transport mechanisms.”

The Prism study further added, “In particular, the following uses have been identified for vicinity properties which likely included the use and/or storage of hazardous materials:

  • “Wolverine Gas & Oil Company (a bulk petroleum fuel storage facility) located approximately 350 feet to the north (815 E. Wells Street) from approximately the 1920s to the mid-1960s.
  • The Getman Corporation (heavy equipment manufacturing) was located approximately 380 feet to the north (815 E. Wells Street) from the mid-1950s to approximately 1961.
  • The bulk petroleum fuel storage facility (Sinclair Bulk Oil Plant and Funk Oil) was located approsimately 350 feet to the north (east of the Michigan Central Rail Road [M.C.C.R] on the north side of E. Wells Street ) from approximately the 1920s until approximatley the late-1960s.
  • The South Haven Light & Fuel Company (gas manufacturing plant) ws located approximately 800 feet to the southwest on Prospect Street from approximately 1908 to the mid-1960s.
  • The South Haven Chemical Company was located approximately 1,100 feet to the southwest (along Conger Street) from the mid-1910s to the 1960s.
  • The presence of fill material is located approximately 100 feet to the south (654 Dunkley).”
When the Celery Pond was first attempted to be developed in 1983, environmental concerns were an issue. The development plan did not succeed and the subject was laid to rest for many years.
By 2001 the DDA was considering this area for future development so that by 2002-2003 there appeared a flurry of activity to assess the land. The above study mentioned was preceded by a study done in 2002. Prism was hired by First Choice Marina to do a “Baseline Environmental Assessments (BEAs) for 815 Wells Street Condominium project (today being advertised as Riverwatch Development). This report, submitted to the MDEQ file no. 05-80-0061-P in Kalamazoo showed “metals in the soil below the levels of cleanup.”
The City of South Haven hired Prism to do further studies in a “Standard Practice for Environmental Assessments” done later that year (Prism 02.1220). While Prism “performed this Phase 1 in a “professional manner” the report stated that “the initial site reconnaissance activities were conducted 4 December 2002 and approximately two to three inches of snow covered the Property (ie. Celery Pond Parcel,88 Bailey Avenue). Snow cover prohibited a detailed inspection of surface water and soil at the Property.”
More Prism studies were done for the City in February 2003 on Maintenance Garage and the former City of South Haven Department of Public Works Building. Then in a Limited Site Assessment done on March 4 and 6, 2003 six soil borings done by Prism found metals that were detected in the lab anaylsis for 4 of the 6 samples. Of these borings, four went to the depth of 25 feet below ground level, but the two borings on the frozen Celery Pond didn’t work. The “drilling rig got stuck in the soft sediment beneath the ice” and the actual Pond assessment had to be done along the drain ditch in a “pre-assigned alternate location.”
On Page 9 of the “Soil Samples” of this report (02.1400, dated 8 April 2003), said that “the presence of metals was detected in each of the four samples subjected to analysis. In particular, the presence of arsenic was detected” in 4 of the soil samples but “these levels are below the Generic Residential Cleanup Criteria for Drinking Water Protection.” However, one of the samples indicated reported levels that did “exceed the GRCC Driect Contact (DC) criterion.” Other substances tested for such as chromium, selenium, manganese were detected, some samples below the established criterion, others not. From this review of Celery Pond and the adjacent drainage ditch, the report gave the following conclusions:
  • “The results of this investigation have identified the presence of adverse impact (metals) in the soil at the former Maintenance Garage property and in the sediments of the Celery Pond. Based on these results (as well as results collected during previous investigations), the study area meets the definition of a “facility” as it is defined in Part 201 of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), P.A. 451 of 1994, as amended. As defined in NREPA, a facility is any area, place, or property where a hazardous substance in excess of the concentrations which satisfy the requirements of 20120a(1)(a) or (17) has been released, deposited, disposed of, or otherwise comes to be located.”
  • “The presence of volatile organic compounds, polynuclear aromatic compounds, or polychlorinated biphenyls was not detected in soil samples collected during this investigation.”

This Limited Site Assessment concluded its remarks saying that “The Conclusions presented herein are based solely on the services described, and not on scientific tasks or procedures beyond the scope of agreed upon services. This report makes no warranty regarding the presence or absence of affected materials across the Property other than the soil and groundwater samples specifically described and those parameters specifically tested for by the laboratory.”


Posted by Carol Niffenegger in 07:47:00 | Permalink | Comments (3)