Press Release:
LTLT has signed a contract to purchase the J.H. Duncan Oil Company property (former CITGO gas station) adjacent to LTLT’s office at 557 East Main Street in Franklin. Including 350 feet of river frontage, the 1.3-acre property is a former petroleum storage and dispensing facility and is expected to have soil contamination from that long-term past use. A final purchase will depend on whether LTLT can enter into a satisfactory and affordable Brownfields Agreement with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Future uses of the property may be limited by that agreement.
DENR defines a “brownfield site” as “an abandoned, idled or underused property where the threat of environmental contamination has hindered its redevelopment.” Under DENR’s Brownfields Program a purchaser is obligated to remediate contamination issues to agreed-upon levels, which may depend in part on the future use of the property. The purchaser is otherwise protected from liability if it complies with the DENR agreement.
“Some may be surprised by LTLT’s interest in acquiring this economically distressed and environmentally degraded property,” said LTLT Board Chair Ken Murphy, “however this step should be seen as evidence of the full consolidation of the Little Tennessee Watershed Association (LTWA) with LTLT following the merger of the two organizations at the end of 2011.” Previous LTWA work had identified the most significant water quality issues in the Little Tennessee watershed as originating in the urban streams, which drain the town of Franklin. By engaging in brownfield cleanup in the floodplain LTLT begins to address some of these problems.
“Though we will not know whether we will be able to complete this project until we have submitted environmental test results to DENR, we believe this project deserves our best efforts,” Murphy continued. “If we are successful, we believe the cleanup of this property will kick-start the revitalization of the neighborhood, which serves as a gateway into downtown Franklin. That would provide significant benefits to the community.”
Eighteen months ago LTLT moved its larger staff and program work to newly leased offices at its present location, which is adjacent to the only unfinished portion of the 4.5-mile Little Tennessee River Greenway. “I had really never spent any time in this neighborhood before,” said Paul Carlson LTLT’s Executive Director, “yet once located here I began to appreciate what a great location it could be. Our staff uses the Greenway regularly and some of Franklin’s best restaurants are within walking distance. In spite of its proximity to so many amenities, there are two key problems in this area: one is that it is not at all pedestrian friendly; the second is the dilemma of brownfields in the floodplain which has contributed to financially distressed properties with contamination clean-up issues. We hope that LTLT’s presence here can help on both of these fronts.”
LTLT is now organized around three program legs: Conserve, Restore, and Connect. While the J.H. Duncan Oil project would Conserve river frontage and Restore an economically distressed and environmentally degraded property, it also has the potential to Connect people to the land and water by improving access to the river— a key part of this project. Also its proximity to the historic Nikwasi Mound enhances the value of restoring the brownfield property.
