Some aldermen question possible storage site on Area B

Sep. 15—Searching for a new location to store materials used by its public works department, Frederick is considering a 10-acre site on Fort Detrick's Area B.

The city currently uses a location in Husky Park on Highland Street to store construction materials such as brick, stone, millings, soil, mulch, pipe and other products.

But the city is looking to sell that location, and is considering signing a 20-year lease with the Department of the Army for the 10-acre site along Kemp Lane.

The city has considered selling the Husky Park property in a neighborhood that is changing quickly with more residential and mixed-use development.

Once the city decided to look at selling the Husky Park property in 2019, Public Works looked at a variety of sites and talked to the Department of the Army about several locations, Director of Public Works Zack Kershner told the mayor and aldermen at a workshop Wednesday.

As the city has grown, Public Works has had to adjust its operations, Kershner said.

While a move from Husky Park on the city's east side to Kemp Lane on the north side would be a change, the department does work all over the city on a given day, he said.

Area B is a 399-acre plot of land used in the mid-20th century as a test site for the Army's biological warfare program.

Because of how the Army disposed of hazardous waste on Area B while the site was used to test biological warfare materials, the land's groundwater is contaminated. For decades, the Army has studied the extent of the contamination and has tried to figure out how to address it.

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named Area B's groundwater to its National Priorities List, grouping it with other Superfund sites around the country that are contaminated from having hazardous waste dumped, left in the open or otherwise improperly managed.

That history led some alderwomen to question the possible move.

Alderwoman Donna Kuzemchak said she has concerns about having city employees work in the area of a Superfund site.

She wondered how they can know that the project won't affect the groundwater in the area.

"I just feel like we don't know so much," Kuzemchak said.

The proposed public works lot is not on a Superfund area, said Tracy Coleman, deputy director of public works for the city.

Alderwoman Katie Nash said she shares Kuzemchak's concerns, and was struggling with the idea that the city would want to have any sort of activity on the site.

Not all of Area B is a Superfund site — only certain parts, Mayor Michael O'Connor said.

The city did some geotechnical and soil testing while it was considering an extension of the Christopher's Crossing roadway through the area, and a surface use like one being proposed wouldn't involve the groundwater contamination, said Tracy Coleman, deputy director of public works for the city.

Nash said she doesn't trust that the Superfund areas accurately reflect where the groundwater contamination currently is.

"I'm not comfortable with this, continuing to put stuff there," she said.

The city doesn't have to move from the Husky Park site unless it can find another place to put its materials, O'Connor said.

If the aldermen want to consider the Kemp Lane site, the city would look to enter into discussions with the Department of the Army, he said.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP