Our site is an industrial/office park and already has documented petroleum contamination dating back to 1992. Contamination came from a leaking UST. The UST and impacted soil were removed in the 1990s, but a contaminated groundwater plume was also discovered. The plume was contained on site. Since then, monitoring wells and air sparging equipment have been installed to continue the clean-up process. The site is listed as contaminated with the Washington State Department of Ecology, who is tracking the well data, and they have a facility site ID for the project. Our proposed development will involve decommissioning of the existing monitoring wells and air sparging equipment. Approximately six new wells will be constructed on-site, and continued clean-up measures will involve treatments of Chemox (chemical oxidation) and/or enhanced bioremediation measures. The Washington State DOE will continue to monitor data from the new wells on a quarterly basis. Any petroleum-impacted soil encountered during construction will be removed and treated accordingly. We wanted to verify that we qualify for the Brownfield Redevelopment credit for our efforts even though previous remediation measures have occurred on-site, as the site is still considered contaminated by the Washington State DOE, with contaminant levels above Washington State Model Toxics Control Act levels.
The project team is inquiring as to whether a site this is undergoing ongoing remediation qualifies for this credit. Yes, based on the information provided above it appears that the project has met the intent of the credit by developing a contaminated site and performing (ongoing) appropriate remediation. The site meets the definition of a brownfield, as hazardous contamination has been documented on the current site by the State of Washington. Please note that credit cannot be awarded through the CIR process. Actual achievement can only be granted during the LEED certification review process.