"I was the last to sign," North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said, describing a letter mailed Friday to Gov. Mark Sanford.

The letter includes signatures from Jim Bryan, head of the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority, and Bernard Groseclose, president and CEO of the SPA. It asks Sanford to formally request a deed from the Navy on land that includes the former Charleston Naval Shipyard and a 110-acre tract that once served as a landfill.

The decision is a major step, but not the last, toward transfer of ownership on the last tracts at the century-old base. The state's Budget and Control Board, the Department of Health and Environmental Control and Sanford must agree to the transfer before deeds change hands.

Transfer of land from the Navy began more than three years ago, although efforts to clean up the base actually predated the Pentagon's decision to close it. A plan published in February 1993 identified 36 sites at the base that needed testing and possible cleanup. Sites included the shipyard and the 110-acre landfill.

Since then, the Navy and its contractors have been digging wells, testing soil and groundwater, and hauling dirt under programs costing $70 million.

Closure became a reality later in 1993, followed by a decision first to sell the base, then to offer it at no cost to the community.

Under rules initially in place, the Navy had to have its cleanup plans in progress before it could transfer the property, Navy engineer Tony Hunt said. Beginning in 2001, more than 760 acres of relatively clean land was transferred to the RDA, which handed over some tracts to the city and ultimately to the Noisette Co.

More than 200 acres also have been transferred to other federal agencies, but roughly 500 acres remained in Navy hands, largely because they were contaminated in some form. In the meantime, federal rules governing transfers changed. The federal government adopted an early transfer procedure, Hunt said, that allows the transfer of property even if it's contaminated.

Under the new procedure, the Navy must present a cleanup plan but the cleanup doesn't have to be in place or complete. That's because the Navy is still responsible for cleaning up any troublesome contamination that might emerge later.

"We can transfer it within days," said Jim Beltz, a Naval Facilities Command spokesman, "if DHEC accepts land-use controls on the deed and the need to consult with the Navy on any future development on the property. The Navy's promise to fix problems doesn't stop with property transfer."

For years, the Navy has held a permit from DHEC, acting on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, allowing it to manage pollution at the base. But questions linked to contamination, especially at the former landfill, emerged earlier this year when the Navy asked DHEC if it could modify its permit.

"It's typical of a landfill," Hunt said, describing the area that was contaminated mostly with construction and demolition debris. "You get some things that seep out, including some oil sludge pits that we've already removed. In fact, we conducted a large-scale removal of contaminated dirt, but some (contaminants) have already been mixed with the groundwater."

The question comes down to what's the best remedy for whatever contamination remains. Instead of a massive cleanup, the Navy wants to cap the landfill with semi-porous soil and monitor the area with test wells to make sure nothing more seeps out.

"We haven't seen anything that would appear dangerous to human health," Hunt said. Nevertheless, the request to modify the permit drew squawks from the RDA and the SPA.

The RDA, in a letter signed to DHEC, said it believed "capping the soil and imposing various restrictions on relevant areas are insufficient," especially if the SPA wants to build a container cargo terminal on some of the landfill.

The SPA's Groseclose agreed, saying contamination in the area "could cost South Carolina tens of millions of dollars in remediation expenses in order to provide roads and other access to the container terminal" that it plans to build at the south end of the base.

The state agencies' opposition to the Navy's plan to cap the landfill apparently hasn't changed. Both the RDA and the SPA, however, have agreed that ownership of the last 500 acres can change without worrying about who cleans up the land later.

"The Navy has assured all parties that its response to all issues related to contaminants will not be impacted" by the change in ownership, Groseclose said in a statement Friday.

The last step leading to transfer of the property lies with Sanford, who by law must formally ask the Navy for the land. Late Friday, Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor likely will ask DHEC and the Budget and Control board staff for their opinions before he acts.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.charleston.net/stories/072404/loc_24navyland.shtml