JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As efforts move forward to clean up 31 acres of contaminated land in Jacksonville used to manufacture, store and ship pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides, the groups taking on the task talked about what the project entails.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Multistate Environmental Response held multiple sessions for the public to discuss efforts to clean the property on Talleyrand Avenue.
Peter Cornais is the project manager for Greenfield Multistate Environmental Response Trust. He talked about the remediation process at the meeting.
“We have source area treatment for groundwater that’s starting first. We’re going to cap the area to 31 acres with a cap towards the end of the project,” Cornais said.
The groups plan to install a thick plastic layer to protect people from contacting the contaminants once the land is deemed safe for reuse.
“We have a pump and treatment system also going in and that will contain the groundwater to the site down the road as the site is still undergoing cleaning and then the most prominent part of the remedy is the bulkhead that’s being installed in the St. Johns River and that’s going to contain the contaminates,” Cornais said.
Cornais said the bulkhead will be made of thick steel that will extend 10 feet above the St. Johns River.
There are about 5 acres of land that Cornais said is called the “source” because it’s extremely contaminated to the point where it’s not only dangerous for the environment but for people as well.
“When we go in, one of the first things we’re doing is stabilizing the source,“ Cornais said. ”We call it soil stabilization. We pour cement in and mix it and it solidifies and hardens and that way the groundwater that moves around it is clean.“
Cleanup and containment will be a two-year process. There are plans to sell the property once it’s deemed safe.
