The Cedars Russell Tract Brownfields Project

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased a 71-acre parcel of land surrounded by The Cedars Natural Area Preserve (NAP) in Lee County, Virginia. The Cedars NAP is a documented biodiversity hotspot where karst-adapted flora and fauna thrive, including numerous threatened and endangered species. The federally endangered Lee County Isopod (Lirceus usdagalun) – endemic to the westernmost county in Virginia – inhabits the Thompson Cedar Cave system beneath the Russell Tract.

The Challenge

The property had been previously operated as a sawmill, leaving sawdust piles more than 30 feet deep across more than 100,000 square feet of the property, as well as multiple waste piles of scrap metal and other materials. TNC plans to convey the property to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for inclusion in The Cedars Natural Area Preserve. However, DCR needs the property to be cleaned up.

Our Solution

Once WSSI prepared the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Cleanup Grant Application and it was awarded to TNC in September 2020. Following the competitive bidding process, in late 2021 TNC selected WSSI to administer the grant and perform the cleanup.

In January 2022, WSSI developed and implemented a Community Involvement Plan as part of the EPA grant’s requirements. WSSI staff facilitated and prepared materials for meetings with the Lee County Board of Supervisors and Friends of the Cedars non-profit group; and worked closely with TNC and DCR’s Department of Natural Heritage to develop materials such as fact sheets, social media posts, and public meeting posters.

The following April, WSSI prepared the site’s application for the Virginia Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP), as VRP enrollment was a grant requirement and the VRP Certificate of Satisfactory Completion enabled transfer of the property to DCR. The application was approved soon after. The cleanup commenced between April and May 2022, with additional work including: preparation of the Remedial Work Plan; Quality Assurance Project Plan; Sampling and Analysis Plan; Health and Safety Plan; and comprehensive management of onsite waste piles including removal of concrete slabs and electrical equipment. WSSI also supported project closure by completing the EPA grant reporting requirements.

Ultimately, 50 tons of scrap metal were recycled, several buildings and all solid waste were successfully removed from the site, and the sawdust piles have since self-stabilized. Numerous soil and water samples were collected to support risk assessment analysis in the VRP report and the VRP granted a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion in November 2023, allowing for the transfer of ownership to The Cedars NAP.