City Receives “Responsible Party Letter” for Contamination at 700 Grand Avenue
- 700 Grand Avenue, lead, PAHs
- December 1, 2024
According to records on the DNR’s Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System (BRRTS), the City of Wausau received a Responsible Party Letter from the DNR for the vacant parcels associated with 700 Grand Avenue. The letter from the DNR is dated November 20, 2024, and is addressed to Kevin Fabel, the City’s environmental engineer. The full letter can be accessed on the DNR’s website via this link, and is also embedded below.
The Grand Avenue parcels are now listed as an open Environmental Repair Program site on BRRTS. The site is listed as “02-37-595786 GRAND AVE VACANT PARCELS” on the DNR’s website. That page can be accessed here, on which regulators have uploaded relevant records, such as Phase I and Phase II environmental investigations for the property.
Contamination from Historical Urban Fill Material at the Site
In its Site Investigation Workplan, the City’s environmental consultant states that there is contamination from fill material at the site:
“…there is evidence of contamination from the historical urban fill material throughout the Site. Given the extent of contamination across a majority of the Site in this urban setting, with no point source identified on the Site, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals contamination found in the Phase II ESA are likely a result of historic urban fill present on the Site and throughout the general area of the City of Wausau.”
High Level of Lead Identified in Groundwater for Test Sample B-2: Considered an “Anomaly”
Per the site’s investigation workplan document, high levels of lead were identified in the groundwater of at least one sample location on the vacant parcels:
“The Phase II ESA results also indicated that high levels of lead were present in the groundwater at SB-2, but not in the soil. After discussion with the Wisconsin DNR, no point source was identified, and the groundwater exceedance for lead at SB-2 is considered an anomaly. Based on this lead exceedance in the groundwater, delineation borings surrounding SB-2 are deemed necessary at this time.”
Future Residential Development
The records on the DNR website indicate that the site will be developed for housing in the future. The residential project will consist of “one new, four-story, multi-family residential building and a subgrade parking garage, with associated parking lots and greenspace areas,” according to the City’s consultant.
That consultant states: “As the responsible party, the City of Wausau will select appropriate remedial actions to address soil and groundwater contamination present in the subsurface to protect human health and the environment.”
The full Site Investigation Workplan can be accessed and reviewed on the DNR’s website here.
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