Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment

501 N. Main Avenue (Former Willow Brook Foods)

Date of Report: April 2009
Assessment Funding: EPA Brownfields Petroleum Assessment Grant
Acres: 7

Site Background

The property is located around the area of West Tampa Street, West Phelps Street, North Main Avenue, and North Grant Avenue. The site occupies approximately 7 acres of land listed with an address of 501 N. Main Street. The site is improved with a three-story structure comprising 195,490 square feet of operational space, in addition to a secondary brick structure comprising approximately 6,000 square feet. The facility was most recently used as a poultry processing plant which ceased operations in October 2008.

A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) of the property was completed in November 2008. Historical records suggest the property was developed since at least 1884 with dwellings and/or light commercial and retail structures. Commercial and industrial use of the site dates back to at least 1910. Phase I records document various commercial/industrial land uses in connection with the target assessment area as outlined in the following section. Commercial use of the site includes operations that included large-volume petroleum storage and associated storage tanks, various manufacturing equipment, and an incinerator; printing company and dry cleaner facilities within the eastern portion of the subject site; extended trucking company operations (1950 to 1985) within the northwestern and central portions of the site; and previous filling stations on the northwest corner of the site. Historical operations on the northwest adjoining property have included filling stations. Previous use of the south and east adjoining property (east adjoining to the southern parcel of the site) have been identified as Springfield Gas and Electric Company with an 84,305 gallon fuel oil tank and ancillary facilities. The use of the site and adjoining properties were identified as Recognized Environmental Condition (RECs).

Findings

Terracon Consultants, Inc. completed a Phase II Brownfields Assessment of the property in February 2009 to further assess the Phase I RECs noted above. Nineteen soil borings were advanced across the site to evaluate soil and groundwater conditions.

Petroleum impact is present on the southeast portion of the main site within multiple soil borings in groundwater and in soil. A thin layer of phase separated product (apparent degraded fuel oil/diesel fuel) was also observed on the groundwater in the temporary sampling location near the southeast corner of the main property. Petroleum impact is also present on the southeast portion of the southern parcel of the site south of Phelps Street. Although a source of the impact can not be definitively verified, it is assumed based on Phase I ESA information, that the source is related to the 84,000 gallon historical fuel oil tank and other historical fuel oil storage present on the southeast adjoining property.

Based on the findings of this Phase II assessment, additional investigation appears warranted to further define the nature and extent of the petroleum impact to the site along with the completion of a Tier 1 assessment to further define complete/non-complete pathways at the site.