Town Asks For Timely Cleanup

The issue was debated Monday night at the council's meeting, with concerns mounting from residents and local officials alike.

Sections of the Horace Williams tract have held hazardous waste material for the University since 1973. Now, town and UNC officials are at odds as to how immediate the need is to clean it up.

Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said he envisions it taking at least 12 to 16 months to secure funding for the endeavor.

"If you look at the steps that need to be taken ... it's going to take some amount of time to secure the funding," Foy said.

Once this preliminary step is completed, he said, preparation must be made to decontaminate the site.

"It seems like it's going to be a very tedious and time-consuming job," Foy said.

He said he would like to see the University develop a timetable for the project in the near future and added that the procedure will be quicker if the town and University collaborate.

Foy said the town is willing to participate in remediation of the hazardous material at the site.

He said that although town residents have been aware of the dump since 1973, recent development and other factors have threatened the area with contaminants leaching through the soil.

Council member Jim Ward said the issue desperately needs to be addressed.

"I think it's very important that it gets high-priority attention by the University," Ward said. "It's only going to get worse."

Ward said discourse between the council and the University has been cordial in the early stages of tract cleanup discussion.

Carolyn Elfland, UNC associate vice chancellor for campus services, said the site remediation would be accomplished as part of Carolina North, a future satellite campus to be located on the Horace Williams tract.

"We are obviously committed to remediating the sites in conjunction with Carolina North," Elfland said.

She said the University will have to negotiate cleanup arrangements with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources before it can proceed with these matters.

She said University soil testing reports show no evidence of hazardous materials leaking off the tract.

"The groundwater sampling shows that the contaminants in the groundwater have not spread off the University's properties," she said.

But council member Mark Kleinschmidt said he has been frustrated by what he views as reticence on the matter by the University.

"Just saying that this isn't an EPA superfund site doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be addressed. I think it needs to be a priority for the University."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.