The Town held two information meeting last year to gather public input. Friends of Bolin Creek and the Southern Environmental Law Center have raised a number of questions about the recently completed risk assessment. These questions SELC.questions.may31.pdf have not yet been addressed. We believe the Council needs to stop considering options for future uses until the risk analysis is complete. The Town risk assessment reports are attached here.
Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment Report
Interim Remedial Measures Report
Nearly a decade ago, the Town announced that the police station had been built on top of a dump containing coal ash. The Town hired consultants to study the extent of the contamination and discovered a significant amount of coal ash eroded into the soil around the trail next to Bolin Creek. The soil contained high amounts of toxins, like arsenic. Last year, the Town removed the contaminated soil by the creek and took other measures to protect the trail from eroded coal ash. However, the vast majority of the coal ash still remains on the site, including the coal ash on the embankment that has historically eroded coal ash down onto the trail next to Bolin Creek.
The Town plans to redevelop the site, which will involve disturbing coal ash that has been contained underneath the police station for 40 years. To ensure the health and safety of the public and our environment, it is important the Town safely remove all coal ash that is close to the surface and at risk of eroding. While the Town is considering various options for the site such as town buildings or apartments, it will be important to minimize the disturbance of contained coal ash left on site during any redevelopment.