Applying State Brownfield Initiatives To Whom It May Concern: Innovative Closure of a Large Industrial Plant

摘要

The closing of a large equipment manufacturing facility brings with it many challenges, specifically when one considers the sub-floor areas associated with many of the older manufacturing plants. Many of these plants utilized an elaborate array of sub-floor sumps, trenches and piping to convey and/or recycle oils and waste water used in manufacturing processes. Depending on the size and nature of the plant, literally miles of sub-floor trenches and buried piping may exist. Although installed with accepted engineering standards of the time, leakage from joints and cracks in ductile iron and terra-cotta piping, galvanic and flow related corrosion of steel piping and leakage from sumps and trenches yield many potentially undetected sources of contamination beneath the floors of these older facilities. In consideration of these potentials, the "big picture" associated with a plant closure must be evaluated to determine the best approach to addressing this issue. Although the most comprehensive approach would be to thoroughly characterize the entire sub-floor environment beneath a plant using a grid type approach, it is frequently cost prohibitive. In many cases, it may not be realistic or even necessary to conduct such an extensive characterization effort depending on the intended future use of the manufacturing plant. In recognition of the number of Brownfields Sites in Pennsylvania, the State established the Land Recycling Program (Act 2 - Chapter 250; 35 P.S. para 6026.101-6026.909) to clean up existing and orphaned industrial and commercial sites with the ultimate goal of preserving farmlands and other greenspaces in Pennsylvania. Because the program is intended for both existing and orphaned facilities, the closure of existing industrial and/or commercial facilities under the Act 2 Program can significantly enhance a property's value through the cleanup liability protection that is afforded to both the owner and buyer.