Now the initial date for the Risk Assessment Report was due by the end of December 2016. This date was not met and is not expected to be until sometime in the current quarter (April- June). The delay was put on Triad Engineering for a lack of time to complete this report. It has been know for some time that it was due, but somehow was not high enough on the project list apparently? In fact the money to pay for it was not approved until 9 March 2017 and was only a few thousand dollars ($9500.).
There was a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), request to DEP on 19 March 2017 requesting ANY documents the WV DEP or U.S. EPA provided to WV DEP, to allow the City of Vienna to develop the Riverside Acreage?
The response from DEP to the FOIA request on 25 March 2017 was "the DEP has not provided documents to Mr. Rapp/ City of Vienna to develop the Riverside Parcel. Until (my emphasis), we receive and review the Risk Assessment report, the DEP has not issued an approval letter or Certificate of Completion to give "closure" of that parcel. The Risk Assessment report is being written currently".
Now on 27 March 2017, another FOIA was sent to Mr. Rapp/ City of Vienna for "Any and all documents from U.S. EPA or W.V. DEP giving permission to develop any or all of the Park Side of John Manville/ Spencer's Landing".
The response was "No permission was necessary since no soil was disturbed during the improvement of the park side of Spencer's Landing. The Gold Star Memorial was placed on top of 5 feet of fresh dirt. Since no permission was necessary, there are no documents from either the EPA or the DEP that meet the criteria of, or answer, your request".
Now this response was as is many of the responses highly suspect since it was not dated or signed?
In the site survey in 2013/ 2014, there were three (3) potential ways to handle the property.
1. Do nothing, fence it off, lock it up and walk away.
2. Put down at least 2 feet (24"), of dirt on the property before it is developed.
3. Dig up all the dirt till the contamination is gone.
The choice was number 2 due to cost of number 3 (exorbitant), and number one which would have voided any reason to buy the property if just left empty.
Clearly number 2 was implemented when the Gold Star Memorial was built. That by the most unbelievable lack of use/ denial of the word by whomever- developed.
At the Special Council Session on 19 January 2017, Mr. Harris asked if the "one mile walking trail" should be done. He was told to go ahead and start that project. Money for it was put into the Fiscal Year Budget of 2017- 2018 as a Capital Outlay. So far no 2' of dirt for that? It can be noted that this permission did not show up in the "Official" minutes for that meeting.
And as has been noted before, Mr. Rapp/ City of Vienna set up Lacrosse Field number one near the River Side of the Parcel last year (my emphasis). So far no 2' of dirt for that?
Now Mr. Rapp has said there is NO contamination on the river side of the Parcel. But he has also said there was never a Ravine there that was used for dumping for years by the owners of the property. Those who worked there said it was 40'- 50' deep. There are pictures that are available that appear to show that Ravine. Not as deep as noted, but appear to be getting leveled on the edges as it filled up.
In fact, a semi- review by Ms. Flesher of DEP and Mr. Wright, the licensed Remediation Specialist for Triad Engineering has noted "two (2) areas that have Arsenic that exceeded industrial levels, but they are located underneath pavement (parking lot). There are also PAHs (I think this stands for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, but may be wrong in this instance?), that exceed Residential (which Riverside must be remediated too), but not industrial limits".
You the reader need decide who may not be telling the Truth and on what issues? I have noted FOIAs, Site Surveys and even what has been told to me by people who did the dumping there years ago. Plus another person was told that there are a lot of contaminated material under the parking pads down there AND that it is so potent that it will leach up through the pads over time. And it can be noted that those pads are deteriorating very badly so leaching would of course be much easier/ faster as time progressed.
I have at no time said "don't buy it", but as time progresses and the misdirection, deceit, deception, misinformation and apparently the opportunity to lie surface, I am becoming more and more skeptical?
It is my good fortune to have no children or grandchildren; pregnant wife or even elderly to worry about going down there. But I do have possibly the misfortune to have a strong caring affection for the good folks of Vienna. It may be you have become my unintended extended family here? You all need to know the TRUTH sooner than later? To in ANY way, shape or form endanger people to build a monument to one's self at the expense of those one professes to serve is nothing but EGO? 'nuff said'.