Clearing path for progress

Tank removal will allow for future development

WELLSBURG -- The first of three storage tanks was lifted out of the ground at the site of the former Snyder's Chevron station just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The effort is part of an assessment and remediation project centered on preparing the site in the 1500 block of Commerce Street in Wellsburg for potential future business development.

According to Pat Ford, executive director of the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, funding for the project came from a portion of a $600,000 Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in Hancock, Brooke and Jefferson counties.

"This is our first tank pull with this money," Ford said.

Ford noted industrial brownfields, which tend to be the focus of such assessment and remediation efforts, often are easier to identify because there is visible, above-ground, evidence of former industry and possible contamination. Petroleum sites, such as former gas stations, are more difficult to find and pose more risk because of the potential of leaks and the spreading of contaminants.

"That's the impediment to repurposing these sites," Ford said.

A representative of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was on site, Wednesday, taking soil samples from the ground around the tanks for testing.

Once cleaned up, though, Ford said the Wellsburg site will be among the most ideal locations for development along Route 2 in Brooke County, adding similar efforts can be made with the EPA funding in other communities of the Tri-County Area.

"There are abandoned gas stations everywhere," Ford said.

The EPA funds can be used for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 assessments, as well as the removal and disposal of remaining fuel storage tanks.

BDC Assistant Director Marvin Six explained once the tanks are removed from the ground, crews drill holes in them to prevent their future use. The tanks are instead transported for either scrapping or recycling.

Plans are, if the soil comes back clear, to have the tanks fully removed, the holes backfilled and crews cleared from the site by Friday, Six said.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)