Brownfield to reimburse doctors for cleanup

TRAVERSE CITY -- A group of Traverse City doctors will front an estimated $476,000 to help clean contamination left by area gas station owners.

The doctors plan to build medical offices at the southwest corner of Front and Division streets, and the Grand Traverse County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority eventually will reimburse their cleanup costs through the capture of local property taxes, said county brownfield director Jean Derenzy.

The authority may then file a lawsuit or join a state action to recover costs from those responsible for the contamination.

The physicians agreed to sink wells and pump out residual gasoline that is floating on top of groundwater at their site on the bank of Kids Creek.

"This is my hometown, I grew up in Traverse City," said Dr. Roche Featherstone, one of the project developers. "The biggest part for us is we wanted to see that corner cleaned up."

Featherstone said the doctors -- who are from Grand Traverse Surgery and Hand Surgery of Northern Michigan -- will recoup most of their costs.

The busy intersection formerly held a gas station on each corner and fuel spills over the years left gasoline in the groundwater.

County brownfield attorney Scott Howard said state officials reported frustration with a lack of cleanup action by the former gas station owners and are considering a lawsuit against them.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Bob McCann said there's no lawsuit in the works, but he didn't rule out such an action.

"We've spent a great deal of time and expense starting the cleanup ... and ultimately something needs to start moving forward on this site," McCann said. "Our priority is to get a plan in place to get the site cleaned up and recoup as much of the state's costs as possible."

The state paid for a pump-and-treat system on the corner where Republic Bank now stands. A Speedway gas station on another corner has its own treatment system.

In a meeting with the county brownfield authority, DEQ officials alleged the Speedway system is not effective.

The brownfield authority plans to recover costs at the site but prefers to do so with the state.

"But if the state's not willing to do that, then the brownfield authority is going to look at (filing suit) on its own," Howard said.

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Construction of a new office building at the southwest corner of Front and Division streets will begin in October after the property's new owners agree to front the cost of environmental cleanup. Record-Eagle