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Brownfields Case Study
LINCOLN DIMENSIONAL TUBE
Lincoln, RI
Final Update: February 1998
Site Characteristics:
The former Lincoln Dimensional Tube (LDT) facility is a one story, 117,740 square foot building located on a 16 acre parcel in the North Central Industrial Park (NCIP) at 1 Powder Hill Rd. in Lincoln, RI. The site, along with eight (8) other properties in the NCIP, was listed on the EPA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and liability Information System (CERCLIS) list of sites eligible for the National Priorities List (NPL) until the clean up allowed it to be placed on the archived list. The facility operated as a manufacturer and brightener of copper and nickel tubes from 1964 until the plant closed in 1986. Manufacturing processes included the use of an unlined sludge bed surface impoundment for disposal of metal cleaning tank residue and a settling lagoon for rinse water disposal. The lagoon was removed in 1980. Several non-industrial tenants have leased the property from 1986 to the present.
Environmental Issues:
The property has undergone various site assessment and investigation activities from 1982 to 1996. These studies consisted of the completion of soil borings and groundwater monitoring wells, and the sampling and analysis of soils, groundwater, surface water and sludge for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metals. Results of these analyses indicated that low levels of VOCs exist in groundwater, but that the source of this contamination is likely off site. During each study, analysis of the sludge and impounded water consistently detected elevated levels of chromium but never detected VOCs.
The Brownfields Issue:
A stigma of potential environmental liability remained with the property due to the presence of the sludge bed, groundwater contamination and CERCLIS listing. The site had also accumulated an unpaid property tax debt of approximately $300,000. In April 1996, a prospective purchaser, Weeden Street, LLC (WSL), approached the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and proposed to purchase the property and renovate the building for reuse as a manufacturing facility to be operated by Pawtucket Fasteners, Inc. (PFI). This proposal was based on resolving the environmental issues in an expedited manner consistent with the proposed use of the property. As a bonafide prospective purchaser, WSL expected to be held harmless for existing conditions at the site.
The Settlement Agreement:
On September 1996 the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and WSL entered a Settlement Agreement which included a Covenant Not to Sue pursuant to the Industrial Property Remediation and Reuse Act allowing WSL to remediate and renovate the property. Response actions at the property included: complete removal and proper disposal of all impounded water and sludge from the sludge bed; compliance sampling of the excavated area to insure that all remedial objectives had been met; and backfilling the excavated areas with clean fill, regrading and seeding.
Based upon the location's GB groundwater classification and the property's proposed future use, the levels of V0C contamination present in groundwater did not require remediation. A copy of an Environmental Land Usage Restriction (ELUR) was recorded in the Town of Lincoln's land evidence record for the property.
Other Issues/Economic Benefit:
PFI was leasing a building in Milford, MA, but wanted to expand. They looked at several locations, but the RI Brownfields Program made the former LDT site most attractive. This site was consistently underutilized, largely due to the environmental issues. Once agreement was reached regarding site cleanup, RIDEM petitioned EPA to issue a Letter of Comfort for the site on October 18, 1996. On October 31, 1996, EPA issued the letter which indicated that because the property was being addressed under the RIDEM's Brownfields Program, EPA does not intend to take any further action at the property, functionally eliminating the stigma of "double jeopardy". Subsequently, RIDEM and EPA participated in a joint investigation of the eight (8) CERCLIS sites in the NCIP, and as a result of that cooperative effort, five (5) sites, including the LDT property, received a formal No Further Remedial Action Planned (NFRAP) designation from EPA which essentially de-lists, or archives the site from CERCLIS.
PFI began operations in the Summer of 1997, bringing approximately 50 new jobs to Rhode Island. The estimated income tax that will be paid to the State as a result of the jobs is approximately $70,000 per annum. In addition, PFI has made arrangements to pay back taxes of $330,000 to the Town of Lincoln over a ten year period. In 1998, the property was valued at $670,000 and the current property tax per year is $15,329. From a municipal perspective, this property will be providing a net positive economic benefit within seven years (break-even point).
In 2001, the property became available as a restored site for sale. Currently the owners are in a purchase and sale agreement with Liz Claiborne, Inc. that intends to utilize the property as a distribution center for both the Liz Claiborne and Monet jewelry lines.
last edited: 04/03/03
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