Washington College has purchased the 5.4-acre site adjacent to its boathouse that it has long coveted for a campus on the Chester River.
The newly acquired parcel will allow the college to expand its waterfront presence with a new headquarters for the Center for Environment & Society, a residential facility for some lucky students, an academic center and expanded athletic and recreational facilities, plus a public riverwalk.
The site for a hundred years had been home to agri-chemical supply facilities and an oil depot, and suffered from pollution.
“An ailing site is about to become clean and beautiful,” said Bryan Matthews, the college’s vice president for administrative services and a key planner in efforts to acquire the property.
“Rather than condominiums, townhouses and apartments, college facilities and open space will prevail. Chestertown will have a beautiful waterfront gateway.”
The acquisition is part of a strategic plan that calls for the college taking fuller advantage of its proximity to the Chester and the Chesapeake Bay.
To do that and address environmental concerns about the site, an environmental site study was commissioned. Earth Data Inc., conducted a Phase I assessment in 2008 and did an update this fall.
Through the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, a Phase II investigation identified the contaminants – toxaphene, arsenic, chromium and PAHs – concentrated in the 12 inches of soil closest to the surface. The groundwater was found to contain a contaminant, MTBE, above acceptable MDE standards.
“According to MDE recommendations,” the college said in a statement announcing the purchase, “the agrichemical-corrupted soil will be blanketed with a fabric layer, then covered with two feet of clean soil.
“The petroleum-contaminated soil [an estimated 7,500 cubic yards] will be loaded onto trucks licensed to haul regulated waste material in Maryland to a MDE-approved disposal facility.”
Clean fill material from off-site will be delivered to the site, said the college. The groundwater will be monitored to ensure it meets MDE guidelines. The college said it estimates the entire clean-up cost at about $1.5 million.
The project got underway in June 2008 when the college’s Board of Visitors and Governors approved an agreement to enter into a partnership with Leroy Kirby Jr. to acquire 75 acres of land – the 5.4 –acre waterfront site, plus the 70-acre farm known as Stepne Manor located just inland from the river.
The college hopes to create a new facility for its nationally ranked sailing and rowing teams on the site, as well as a riverwalk that will connect Chestertown to the marshlands and eventually be linked to the proposed Rail Trail.
In Bryan Matthews’ words, “In the coming years the citizens of Chestertown will see a sick piece of land along the river come to life.”
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