Soil sample shows contamination at school office site

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 19, 2012

The city of Salisbury has sent out a press release indicating that soil samples from the future site of the Rowan-Salisbury Schools central office show contamination, possibly from the days when a gas station was at the site.
Planning Services Director Joe Morris has said the city will work with the N.C. Department of Health, Environment and Natural Resources to correct the problem, and that if the actions required will affect the timing of construction, the city will offer a site at the other end of the block for construction.
Morris said in the release: “The City of Salisbury will work with DENR and an outside firm to both evaluate and initiate action on the recommendations found on page four of the report. In addition, we have identified city-owned property located on the opposite end of the block, at the corner of East Bank Street and South Main Street, as a secondary site for the central school office if initiation of action on the recommendations poses challenges to the timeline of the project.”
A letter of “no action” on the site was filed in 1991, indicating that NCDENR had cleared the property. The release says subsequent soil sampling has indicated petroleum contamination.
The release further reads: “A report issued by ESP Associates, P.A. (ESP), on October 18, regarding supplemental soil sampling and testing conducted at 329 South Main Street, the site of the future downtown central school office, indicate petroleum impact.
“In 1991, the site was issued a letter of no further action from the North Carolina Department of Health, Environment, and Natural Resources (NCDENR) upon the removal of seven storage tanks and completion of abatement measures at the site – then Arey’s Texaco.
“Community Planning Services Director Joe Morris said, ‘The City of Salisbury, in good faith, considered the letter of no further action, in addition to conversations with DENR regarding the letter, as factual evidence that abatement at the site was complete. However, the environmental status of the site has changed per the soil analysis that we received yesterday.”
See Saturday’s Post for more information.


To view the 1991 letter, click here
To view the 2007 memo, click here