Former Landfill Becomes Storage Site

By MARY STARR

     A former federal Superfund site in Glynn County has been given new life.

     The Hercules 009 landfill, located behind Nalley along Spur 25, is being leased by the car dealership for use as a vehicle storage facility.

     Mark Hall, vice president and general manager of Nalley, said the decision to use the property for the dealership’s growing business was made after the federal Environmental Protection Aency gave the community the all-clear sign.  “We would have never had interest in the site unless thec EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) hadn’t confirmed that the site had been cleaned up,” Hall said.

     The EPA stressed that the best use for a remedied landfill was to convert it into a parking lot, Hall said.  “It’s a place to store vehicles until they are prepped and readied to be put on the sales lot," Hall said.

     The process for getting a long-term lease with Hercules, which owns the site, has been a long one, Hall said.  “We went through a due diligence process of 18 to 24 months to make sure everything was being done right,” Hail said.

     Hercules used the site to bury sludge, chemical drums, rubble and trash between 1975 and 1980.  It was found to contain toxaphene, used as an agricultural pesticide until 1980, that was banned by the EPA in 1982.

     Hall said the site’s retention pond — built for stormwater runoff — exceeds EPA standards.

     John Riley, director of public affairs for Hercules, said that the government-ordered remediation of the site was completed more than five years ago.  “This lease to the auto dealership is a positive use of the land," Riley said.

     Hercules, which excavated the contaminated soil in the 1990s, will monitor the groundwater at the site for the next 30 years.  Hercules has incurred a bill in excess of $25 million so far.