The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About25014_Erwin Terrace Apartments_Letter of Response_20210924ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary MICHAEL SCOTT Director NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality September 24, 2021 SENT VIA E-MAIL and CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Mr. Bryan Kane ET Resi Owner, LLC 4242 Six Forks Road, Suite 820 Raleigh, NC 27609 bmkkslipcap.com Subject: Determination of Eligibility to the Brownfields Program Erwin Terrace Apartments 806 Lambeth Circle & 2814 Erwin Road Durham, Durham County Brownfields Project Number 25014-21-032 Dear Mr. Kane: The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has received and reviewed your February 17, 2021 Brownfields Property Application (BPA) and additional information received on April 30, 2021 and the community support letters submitted on June 17, 2021 submitted by Mid -Atlantic Associates, Inc., on behalf of ET Resi Owner, LLC as the Prospective Developer seeking a Brownfields Agreement regarding the Brownfields Property. That BPA has been reviewed in order to determine whether it meets the requirements for eligibility set forth in the Brownfields Property Reuse Act of 1997. DEQ has determined that, based upon the information that was submitted, this project is not eligible for entry into the North Carolina Brownfields Program (NCBP). Based upon the information submitted to the Department to date regarding this site, the Department has determined that you do not meet the criteria for eligibility for a Brownfields Agreement set forth in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-310.32. Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A- 310.32, the Department has authority to enter into a Brownfields Agreement with a Prospective Developer for purposes of redeveloping a `Brownfields Property." N.C. Gen. Stat. 130A- 3 10.3 1 (b)(3), which defines Brownfields Property, requires a demonstration of an environmental hindrance to the redevelopment of the site. The BPA does not establish that the subject property is environmentally hindered from expansion or redevelopment. The property was historically residential in nature. As noted in your BPA, environmental issues at the property were limited to six underground storage tanks (USTs) that stored heating oil (UST-1 through UST-6). We have reviewed the reports provided with your Brownfields Property Application (BPA) regarding these USTs. The data provided are very old, dating back to the early 2000s. These data, E Q�� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Waste Management 217 West Jones Street 1 1646 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646 NORTH CAROLINA _ Depamnem of enmronmemai Quai919.707.8200 Erwin Terrace Apartments September 24, 2021 Page 3 however, indicate that most UST locations were not impacted, or that impacted soils were excavated, and confirmatory sampling did not indicate residual contamination that exceeded unrestricted use screening levels. Notices of Residual Petroleum (NORPs) were not required to be filed for any of these properties and all have been closed by the DEQ Underground Storage Tank (UST) Section. No Further Action letters were issued for UST-5 in August 2003 and for UST-6 in February 2004. One offsite gas station (UST Section Incident No. 46517), which appears to be located cross gradient of the property, was also closed with a NORP filed in November 2019, but there is no demonstrated impact to the candidate property from this location. We find that the BPA does not contain any information that demonstrates that contamination is impacting redevelopment of the candidate property, contrary to the statements to that effect in the BPA. Further, we find there are portions of the candidate property for which no indication of impact at all is provided. The resolved UST incidents as documented in the Erwin Terrace Apartments BFA do not constitute environmental hindrance at this candidate property. Through the additional letters you provided, we are aware that local businesses view your project as providing benefit through additional housing in this area which would support Duke's campus and nearby hospital, and that it would increase the potential for additional customers for restaurants and other services recovering from the pandemic. We thank you for that information. However, the existence of a potential community benefit from redevelopment of the property does not negate the statutory requirements for eligibility. N.C.G.S. 130A-310.36 of the Brownfields Property Reuse Act provides that this Determination of Eligibility is reviewable under Article 3 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes (N.C.G.S. 150B-22 et seq.). This Denial of Eligibility can be contested as provided in Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes by filing a Petition for a Contested Case Hearing (Petition) with the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) within sixty (60) calendar days. Requirements for filing and serving a Petition are set forth in Chapter 150B of the North Carolina General Statutes and Title 26 of the North Carolina Administrative Code. Additional information regarding requirements for filing a Petition and Petition forms may be accessed at www.oah.nc.gov or by calling the OAH Clerk's Office at 984-236-1850. Service of a petition on the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality must be sent to: William F. Lane, General Counsel Department of Environmental Quality 1601 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1601 NORTH CAROLINAD_E Q�� Depar entof Environmental Dual North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Waste Management 217 West Jones Street 11646 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646 919.707.8200 Erwin Terrace Apartments September 24, 2021 Page 3 If you have questions about this determination, please feel free to contact me at 919.441.2504 or by email at bruce.nicholson(kncdenr.gov, or Sharon Eckard at Sharon. eckard(kncdenr. gov. Sincerely, Bruce Nicholson Brownfields Program Manager cc: Central Files, DEQ Aditi Chakravarty, DEQ Sharon Eckard, DEQ Michael E. Scott, DEQ Jay Osborne, DEQ NORTH CAROLINAD_E Q�� Depar entof Environmental Dual North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Waste Management 217 West Jones Street 11646 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646 919.707.8200