23015 Matheson Ave Creek final dec memo 20190503

1
DECISION MEMORANDUM DATE: May 10, 2019 FROM: Carolyn Minnich

TO: BF Assessment File RE: Matheson Ave Creek 255 Matheson Ave
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County
BF # 23015-19-060 Based on the following information, it has been determined that the above referenced site, whose intended use is for no uses other than open space and recreation and with prior written DEQ
approval, other commercial uses can be made suitable for such uses.
Introduction: The Brownfields Property is one parcel and contains approximately 6.0095 acres (Mecklenburg County tax identification number 08303115). The Brownfields Property is currently undeveloped wooded land. It is vacant land with woods, trees, and vegetation over growth.
Little Sugar Creek bisects the Brownfields Property, which is adjacent to Matheson Ave II Brownfields Property. Initially, this land was to be transferred to the City of Charlotte or Mecklenburg County, but that outcome is no longer an option. Redevelopment Plans:
The redevelopment plan for the Brownfields Property is for open space and recreation uses. In the short term, no development is planned. Longer term plans include development of a linear park adjacent to Little Sugar Creek. The Brownfields Property is surrounded by land in industrial, commercial, retail, and residential use.
Site History: For discussion purposes the entire property has been divided into two sections; one above Little Sugar Creek and one below Little Sugar Creek. The northern portion above Little Sugar Creek is
the smallest and has with access to Matheson Ave and proposed Building 1, this BF Property No
22042-18-060and subject to its own brownfields agreement, and the southern portion below Little Sugar Creek is longer and thinner, this is the property subject to this agreement. This is where the linear park is proposed. The Brownfields Property has not been previously developed. In the 1970s, fill material was placed on a portion of the Brownfields Property and on the
adjacent Matheson Ave II Brownfields Property. According to the interviews in the
environmental reports, the fill dirt was likely imported from the construction project at Matheson Avenue and 30th Street Bridge, but no official documentation is available for verification.
2

Little Sugar Creek is an urban creek within the City of Charlotte. It has had many sources for contamination. A few likely sources are as follows: Located upgradient and to the East is the Detrex Corporation facility which was also the former Parts Cleaning Technologies of North Carolina, Inc. (“PCT”). The PCT site is in the DEQ Hazardous Waste Section (“HWS”) and assigned EPA ID NCD049773245. A few years ago,
PCT accepted more hazardous waste than its permit allowed and did not properly dispose of the waste within the allowable hold times. In March 2014, DEQ issued a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) for exceeding the permitted storage capacity and hold times. On July 7, 2014, PCT was evicted from the Cullman Ave Detrex facility, but hazardous and non-hazardous waste was left behind. On August 19, 2015, investigators obtained and executed a warrant for the Detrex
facility. DEQ HWS is working with previous owners to address the environmental impacts resulting from activities conducted at PCT. The former employees of PCT are being prosecuted in the US District Court for Western District of North Carolina Charlotte Division (Case # 3:17-cr-00136-MOC-DSC) filed on May 17, 2017. Surface water and groundwater impacts from chlorinated solvents at the Brownfields Property and surrounding area are likely attributable to
known impacts from the Detrex facility. Another source maybe Queen City Metal Recycling which is located to the north of the Brownfields Property at 2800 North Tryon Street. According to Environmental Reports, during a November 2017 investigation, pooled oil was observed at a stormwater discharge point near the southern boundary of that facility adjacent to the Little Sugar Creek corridor. Additionally, in
November 2018 a gasoline spill occurred on the Queen City Metal Recycling property which may have impacted the Brownfields Property. Potential Receptors: Potential receptors are construction workers, on-site workers, future residents, visitors, pets, and
trespassers. Contaminated Media: DEQ has evaluated data collected from the following media at the Brownfields Property and
adjacent Matheson Ave II Brownfields Property. Additional groundwater, surface water, and
sediment samples are scheduled to be collected in Summer 2019. DEQ relies on the following data to base its conclusions regarding the subject property and the adjacent Matheson Ave II Brownfields Property and its suitability for its intended reuse.

3
Soil
Phase II ESA activities were conducted in November 2014 and November 2017. Arsenic concentration of 2.1 mg/kg were detected in TP/SB-4 and exceeded the residential PSRG of 0.68 mg/kg. Detections ranged from 1.6 to 4.2 mg/kg on the Matheson Ave II Brownfields Property. The concentrations are consistent with the surrounding area and are considered to be naturally occurring. The IHSB’s tabulated generic residential use preliminary remediation goal (“remedial
goal”) for arsenic is 0.68 mg/kg. Total Chromium concentrations were detected across the Brownfields Property. The standard for Total Chromium is the lower threshold for hexavalent chromium. The samples were not speciated for trivalent and hexavalent. There is no source for hexavalent chromium on the
property. Additional soil and sediment samples are to be collected in Summer of 2019.
4
Groundwater
Groundwater samples were collected from MW-14B in September 2012. The results indicated only chromium exceeded the standard at 16 ug/L vs the NC 2L groundwater standard of 10 ug/L. In November 2018, four groundwater samples were collected on the Matheson Ave II Brownfields Property. The results indicated detections of various contaminants, but only two
constituents exceeded the standards. Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in SB-2 exceeded the NC 2L standard at an estimated concentration of 3.2 µg/L and the standard is 3 µg/L (it is also noted that this compound is a common laboratory artifact and that it was also detected in the method blank). Chromium in SB-6 also exceeded the NC 2L standard of 10 µg/L at a concentration of 35 µg/L. It was noted that the SB-6 sample was collected from a temporary groundwater
monitoring well and had high turbidity. Surface Water Little Sugar Creek bisect the Brownfields Property and a proposed linear park (greenway) is proposed for the southern portion of the Brownfields Proeprty. . Analytical results of Little
Sugar Creek surface water samples revealed chlorinated solvents above 2B surface water standards. As written in the Matheson Ave II Notice of Brownfields Property and the Notice for this subject site, redevelopment near the creek will require fencing or landscaping to prevent access to the creek.
Soil Vapor Due to the lack of structures planned for the Brownfields Property at this time, no soil gas samples were collected. The majority of the Brownfields Property is within the flood plain. Sub-Slab Vapor
No structures are on the Brownfields Property at the time of assessment. Therefore, no sub-slab samples were collected. Indoor Air No structures are on the Brownfields Property at the time of assessment. Therefore, no indoor air
samples were collected. Risk Calculations Risk calculations were made for the stream only. There is no current data for the Brownfields
Property, additional assessment is being conducted in Summer of 2019. The Brownfields Property short term redevelopment is to remain tree canopy for the City of Charlotte and low flood plain land. The risk calculations indicated the following based on available data for surface water. Note, HI represents the Hazard Index
5

Required Land Use Restrictions:
Based on the site-specific data provided to the Brownfield program, the site reuse is suitable for the site as long as the agreed upon land use restrictions in the BFA are abided by.
• No childcare usage
• No groundwater usage
• No soil disturbance without DEQ approval
• Soil may not be removed from or soil imported without DEQ approval
• EMP required prior to redevelopment
• Annual development summary report required
• DEQ shall not be denied access
• Deed conveyance of Notice
• No use of known contaminants on the BF Property
• Abandonment of on site monitoring wells
• Maintenance of future monitoring wells as needed to remain on site
• Little Sugar Creek barrier.
• LURU submittal