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Brownfields Case Study
T.H. BAYLIS
Warwick R.I.
Last Update: March 2000
The T. H. Baylis Company (Baylis) operated as a chemical distributor, wholesaler and hazardous waste storage facility on the 2.1 acre property from 1981 to April 1988. From 1981 to the present there were six documented chemical spills, two fires, and the facility was cited nine times for various violations of the rules and regulations for hazardous materials management. Numerous chemicals in drums, containers and tanks remained on-site after Baylis went out of business in 1988. The site was listed on the EPA's CERCLIS database on 30 July 1991. In September 1992 EPA determined that the amount of material remaining on-site and the deteriorating conditions of the facility represented an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public and the environment. In January 1993 EPA initiated an emergency removal action which included the testing, removal and disposal of approximately 2100 containers of various sizes and materials on-site and the testing and disposal of the contents of eight above-ground storage tanks and four underground storage tanks. The emergency removal was completed in July 1993. There are no hazardous materials remaining on-site. The current owner of the property is THBC, Inc., an insolvent Delaware corporation and a subsidiary of parent holding company Sanitas, Inc., an insolvent Connecticut corporation.
In February 1998, the Department completed a Brownfields Site Assessment (BSA) of the site and determined that the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil and groundwater on the property exceed the Department's soil and groundwater standards applicable to the area. The investigation identified three large areas of soil contamination, several small areas of soil contamination and what appeared to be two separate plumes of groundwater contamination on the property. A Supplemental Soil and Groundwater Investigation (SSGI) was conducted by the Department in April 1998 to further characterize groundwater and soil at and surrounding the Baylis property. The SSGI confirmed concerns identified by the original BSA that VOC contaminated groundwater in exceedance of the Department's standards is migrating off-site to the west in two distinct plumes.
During the Department's investigation of the site, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) identified the property as a potential candidate for redevelopment as an intermodal rail station with a people mover connection to T. F. Green State Airport. The location is adjacent to the Amtrak railroad tracks and directly across Post Road from T. F. Green State Airport. The site was originally chosen by the
Department based upon its location and its significant economic development potential. RIDOT subsequently received federal funding for the intermodal project and after a number of public information/participation meetings, selected the station location to be the Baylis property, the Leviton parking lot west of the Amtrak rail lines, and the adjacent Budget Rental property. The City of Warwick has identified the 70 acres surrounding Baylis as a redevelopment zone.
RIDOT has completed a remedial design investigation for the site and has committed to cleaning up the Baylis property as part of its intermodal train station project. RIDOT's consultant has submitted a Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) to the Department which proposes the excavation of contaminated soil "hot spots" and the
insitu
treatment of groundwater through a network of air sparging interceptor wells. RIDOT is tentatively scheduling the remedial action to begin in spring or summer of 2000.
Approximately $ 47,000 of EPA grant monies were utilized by the Department to direct the investigation and characterization of the site. RIDOT will be applying the $25 million federal transportation grant and $7 million state matching funds to the cleanup of the site and to the design and construction of the train station and people mover. The estimated cleanup cost is approximately $2 & 2.5 million.
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