19005_Nu_Thread_Tire_II_EMP_Letter

Aptus Management, PLLC
Environmental Management Solutions

November 30, 2015

Joe Ghiold VIA EMAIL: Ghiold, Joe <[e-mail]>
Brownfields Program
Division of Waste Management
NC Department of Environmental Quality
217 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603

Subject: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN - NEW TREAD TIRE II
539 & 545 FOSTER STREET
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM PROJECT NO. 19005-15-032

Dear Mr. Ghiold:
On behalf of BH-AG Durham Foster, LLC, please find attached the NCDEQ Environmental Management
Plan (EMP) form for the redevelopment of the New Tread Tire II brownfields site in Durham. As
indicated, BH-AG Durham Foster plans to build a six-story building with 70-90 residential condo units,
plus six three-story terrace homes, all above podium parking.
We anticipate that managing the environmental aspects of the redevelopment effort will be straight
forward given the relatively minor impacts known to exist. We will be generating excess soil associated
with grading and foundation spoils, and there will be some other incidental soil disturbance for utilities
and other improvements. Our approach with respect to soils, which DEQ has found acceptable for
similar brownfields sites where prior incidents have been addressed, is to rely on field observations and
oversight during development to respond on a contingent basis.
We do not expect to encounter groundwater during development activities, and we believe that there is
not the potential for an unacceptable vapor intrusion risk due to the limited impacts at the site and
because the new building that will not be occupied at ground level.
In addition to the information outlined on the EMP form, provided below is additional information on
the site history and the earlier assessment and response actions which have been completed.

Background and Site History
The brownfields redevelopment site consists of three parcels, as indicated in the table below, which
total approximately one acre of land. The three parcels were owned by Denny Clark, and were
assembled by Mr. Clark to allow redevelopment of the larger combined site. They were conveyed to BH-
AG Durham Foster, LLC, the brownfields prospective developer, on June 1, 2015.
NEW TREAD TIRE II -Brownfields Property
Street Address Parcel No. Acreage Description
539 Foster St. 104942 0.16 Commercial - Vacant
539 Foster St. 104939 0.38 Commercial - Improved
545 Foster St. 104938 0.37 Commercial - Vacant
New Tread Tire II December 1, 2015
Durham, North Carolina

Aptus Management, PLLC Page 2

539 Foster St. - Parcel 104942 - This is the smallest and southernmost parcel located adjacent to the
Durham Farmers Market. This parcel is currently vacant with no improvements. Mr. Clark bought this
from the City of Durham.
This parcel was home to the former Tire King facility, which was reportedly demolished in late 1999 and early
2000. Two 6000-gallon petroleum UST were removed in November 1998 along with 155 tons of petroleum
contaminated soil (Underground Storage Tank (UST) Closure Report, Former Tire King Facility, NFE
Technologies, Inc., November 1998).
The incident was classified as Low Risk by NCDENR officials and a No Further Action finding was provided for
the UST removal and soil cleanup on December 14, 1998. NCDENR concluded that no contamination in soil
exceeded2 the residential or soil-to-groundwater MSCCs and no further action was required.
539 Foster St. - Parcel 104939 - This parcel is currently improved with an unoccupied 10,000-square-foot
building that was constructed in the early 1960s. The building was reportedly home to Hutchinson Auto Supply
from 1961-1963, the Appliance & TV Center from 1963-1998 and C.N. Clark & Co. (aka Clark Printing) after
1998.
According to a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment prepared for Clark Printing before it acquired the
property, there were no records of spills, releases or other types of environmental incidents (EI, Phase I
ESA, April 1998).
The EI Phase I noted, however, that an unregulated 2000-gallon gasoline UST was located in the parking
area at the southwestern corner of the building just to the south of the loading dock retaining wall. This
tank may have been used to fuel service/delivery vehicles for the Hutchinson Auto Supply or Appliance
& TV Center businesses.
The tank identified by EI was reportedly removed without incident in 1993, and a UST Closure Report
(EMS Environmental Inc., January 25, 1994) indicated that no detectable levels of gasoline range
petroleum hydrocarbons were detected in post-excavation soil samples.
545 Foster St. - Parcel 104938 - This is the northern most of the parcels at the site and was home to the
Nu-Tread Tire Company and a service station dating back to the 1940s. In 1989, two 5000-gallon USTs
were removed.
In May 2006, before Mr. Clark purchased the Nu-Tread property, he commissioned a Phase I ESA to
evaluate the site conditions (Terra Quest, Phase I ESA, May 2006). The Phase I ESA recommended
testing where the tanks were located and along an old drain line leading from the service bay at Nu-
Tread diagonally to the southwest to the sewer.
Phase II testing conducted in June - August 2006 by MidAtlantic Associates found low levels of residual
petroleum contamination where the USTs were located and along a drain line used by the service
station. Mr. Clark purchased the parcel in September 2006.
Post-closing, the residual petroleum contamination was reported to NCDENR in the form of a Limited Site
Assessment in January 2007 (Phase I LSA Report, Facility ID # 0-015102, MidAtlantic, January 4, 2007), along
with a request that the matter be closed and no further action required. The state officials agreed that the
residual pollution posed little risk and provided an NFA finding in February 2007. The NFA was subject to a
Notice of Residual Petroleum that was recorded on January 25, 2007, and a land use restriction which
prohibited groundwater use.
In August 2007, apparently to ready the parcel for redevelopment, Mr. Clark commissioned further
cleanup on a voluntary basis that focused on the old drain line at Nu-Tread tire. The cleanup included
removal of 86 tons of petroleum contaminated soil, and then another 36 tons of soil in a second follow-
New Tread Tire II December 1, 2015
Durham, North Carolina

Aptus Management, PLLC Page 3

up action in June 2008. At some point in 2007/2008, the old Nu-Tread service station building was also
razed.
In addition, to cleanup work and UST NFA, the 545 Foster Street parcel was entered into the Brownfields
Program by Mr. Clark, and a brownfields agreement was recorded on January 23, 2012 (Project ID
10045‐06‐32, Nu‐Tread Tire Company). Mr. Clark also tried unsuccessfully to add the 539 Foster parcels
to the agreement for 545 Foster. Apparently, because he owned the two parcels before applying to
participate in the Brownfields Program and was the owner/operator of the printing business located at
539 Foster, the addition of the two other parcels was deemed to be ineligible. A further discussion of
the pertinent requirements of the 545 Foster Street Brownfields Agreement is provided below.
Discussion of Environmental Conditions
Broadly, the leaking tanks and other known pollution conditions at the brownfields property have been
addressed – the five USTs located at the site, two at the former Tire King, two at Nu-Tread Tire, and one
at the Clark Printing property, were all removed and four were provided with No Further Action findings
by NCDENR. The fifth tank, the 2,000-gallon unregulated UST at Clark Printing, was reportedly removed
without incident. Otherwise, there are no other records of spills, releases or other types of
environmental incidents associated with 539 and 545 Foster Street property.
As mentioned above, 545 Foster was home to Nu-Tread Tire, and has a brownfields agreement in-place.
The agreement and brownfields survey plan note two areas that may not be disturbed without a seven-
day pre-notification to NCDENR. They are referred to as “Approximate Location of Soil Excavation”
where the drain line and associated petroleum-contaminated soil was cleaned up in 2006/2007, and
“Approximate Historic Location of Underground Storage Tank,” along Foster Street.
In addition, the brownfields agreement lists the following known residual contamination where the USTs
were located in the northeastern corner of the parcel. It should be noted that although the TPH-GRO
was above the 10 mg/kg screening level in B-3, there appears to be no other actionable levels of
contamination. More specifically, no detectable concentrations of VOCs were measured, and aliphatic
and aromatic speciation by VPH analysis indicated no contamination above MSCCs (Phase I LSA Report,
Facility ID # 0-015102, MidAtlantic, January 4, 2007).

Residual Contamination – 545 Foster Street
Groundwater
Contamination
Sample Location Sampling Date Concentration
(ug/l)
2L Standard
(ug/l)
Lead MW-1 11/28/06 86.8 15
C9-C-22 Aromatics MW-1 11/28/06 578 200

Soil Contamination Sample
Location
Sample Depth
(ft bgs)
Sampling
Date
Concentration
(mg/kg)
Standard
(mg/kg)
TPH - GRO
B-3 11-12 7/13/06 260
10
B-8 10-11 7/13/06 40

New Tread Tire II December 1, 2015
Durham, North Carolina

Aptus Management, PLLC Page 4

Summary
Soils - A total of five USTs have been removed from the development site and associated cleanup has
been conducted. And with the exception of some relatively low concentrations of TPH in the former
tank grave area at 545 Foster Street, there is little or no known residual soil contamination remaining on
site.
As a result, our approach for soils management, which DEQ has found acceptable for similar brownfields
sites where prior incidents have been addressed, will be to rely on field observations and oversight
during development to respond on a contingent basis if contaminated materials are encountered.
Groundwater - Based on our development plans, we do not anticipate encountering groundwater
during construction activities.
Vapor Intrusion - We believe that there is not the potential for an unacceptable vapor intrusion risk, or
the need for conventional mitigation, such as a subslab barrier. This is due, first, to the relative lack of
contamination at the site, and, second, because the new building will have a ventilated, low-occupancy
area at ground level, including a two-story parking garage and no residential units.
This type of intrinsically protective approach, based on a building’s layout is recognized as an
appropriate way to avoid vapor intrusion risk according to the USEPA (Assessing and Mitigating the
Vapor Intrusion Pathway from Subsurface Vapor Sources to Indoor Air, OSWER Publication 9200.2-154,
June 2015).
As always, we look forward to working you and the other folks at DEQ. If you have any questions on the
information provided here or on the attached EMP form, please feel free to contact me at
919.522.7289.

Sincerely,
APTUS MANAGEMENT, PLLC

John Gallagher, PE
Engineer of Record

Attachments: EMP Form

cc: Matt Hobbs, Blue Heron Fund

Aptus Management, PLLC

BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FORM