SALISBURY, Md. - Salisbury officials say a public meeting about the cleanup of the Lake Street Brownfield will be held on Thursday, April 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Government Office Building.
317-325 Lake Street has been designated a Brownfield by the United States Environmental Protection Agencies and the Maryland Department of the Environment. Officials say a Brownfield is a property on which development or reuse can be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Lake Street Brownfield is contaminated by petroleum, which has been found in the soil and groundwater there.
Officials say Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons are the primary chemical of concern on the property and can be carcinogenic, lead to neurological disorders, or cause respiratory or reproductive issues. Salisbury was given nearly $1.8 million by the USEPA to bring the property up to agency standards.
According to officials, the two parcels of land that make up the Lake Street Brownfield, 317 Lake Street and 325 Lake Street, were formerly used as a fuel tank farm facility with 15 aboveground storage tanks and two underground storage tanks from the late 1930s to the mid-1980s. The parcels were then abandoned, but in 1990, 317 Lake Street began to be used as a waste oil processing facility.
During that year, an aboveground storage tank spilled approximately 12,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, with an estimated 4,000 gallons released into the Wicomico River. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, No. 6 fuel oil is a type of residual oil that remains after distillate fuel oils and lighter hydrocarbons are distilled away as part of refinery operations.
Salisbury officials say the facility then became inactive again from 1992 until 2008. In 2008, all storage tanks were removed from the property by the property owner. The City purchased both parcels of land in 2020 and demolished all standing buildings down to their foundations in 2023. Salisbury then completed an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives, and decided to pursue the soil cap plus 8 inches of clean soil option. City officials say cleanup consists of removing 2 feet of contaminated soil, replacing that soil with 2 feet of soil mitigation cap, then placing 8 inches of clean soil on top of that to allow planting.
Again, a public meeting will be held by Salisbury's Department of Infrastructure and Development on Thursday, April 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Comments on the progress of cleanup at the Lake Street Brownfield will be shared. The meeting will take place at the Government Office Building at 125 N. Division Street in Room #306.