Leesburg Council discusses Liberty Street ground study

On Monday Oct. 23, the Leesburg Town Council discussed the finding of the recently conducted Liberty Street parking remediation study performed by USA Environment & Infrastructure Inc.

The site of the current parking lot was previously used as a municipal landfill from the 1940s to the mid-1950s. The town council has been considering possible redevelopment opportunities for the site. The study, which was conducted in several phases from April to August, investigated and characterized the material contained beneath the pavement, in order to determine what level of site remediation would be necessary.

The investigation, which included geophysical testing and drilling, along with water and soil sampling, identified materials consistent with the former landfill to depths of up to 22 feet below grade. Complete removal of refuse material would generate approximately 35,000 cubic yards of combined soil and refuse material.

Soil sampling indicated that there is a significant portion of material that would need to be removed for full site remediation that would be classified as hazardous material based on the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons, lead, and cadmium. Much of the mixed material would not be accepted at the Loudoun County Landfill due to the concentrations of lead and other constituents present.

Following Monday’s presentation, the council was asked to determine the long term intended use of the Liberty Street parking lot before deciding on a course of action.

If left as a parking lot, no remediation would be needed. However, if the town decides to remediate part or all of the property, they could consider the Voluntary Remediation Program administered by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

The voluntary program is designed to help property owners remediate contaminated sites. It would provide a pathway to obtain state regulatory approval of future remediation and limit potential liability for the town and any future owners of the site.

Full site remediation would cost an estimated $16.9 million, which would include everything from design plans and permitting, further site testing and investigation, permitting, waste disposal, contingency, and management costs. Partial remediation of the site is also an option and pricing would be less than the full $16.9 million estimate.

“I would say this certainly gives the entire council pause for the price tag,” said Vice Mayor Neil Steinberg. “I would prefer not to give up the conversation entirely until we can see what other options may present themselves for this site, which at some point hopefully we will do something with. It’s a pretty valuable piece of real estate and can serve a variety of functions.”

Town Council members agreed they would like to continue the conversation regarding the future of the site. No action was taken during Monday night’s meeting.