Asbestos abatement and related projects in Pocahontas County,

Here is an analysis of asbestos abatement and related projects in Pocahontas County, based on the provided sources:

The Howes Leather Tannery (Pocahontas County Commission) The Pocahontas County Commission has been actively managing asbestos abatement at the former Howes Leather Tannery (East Fork Industrial Park) located in Frank, West Virginia.

• Supported by an EPA Brownfields Clean-up Grant, the project mandates the removal of asbestos from three or four dilapidated buildings on the property before the county can safely demolish them to prepare the site for future industrial use.
• In December 2023, the County Commission reviewed bids and selected the Greenbrier Environmental Group to serve as the engineering and consulting firm for the asbestos removal and groundwater remediation at the site.
• Later, the Commission had to approve an additional $20,000 for the project's asbestos abatement costs after more asbestos was discovered on the property than originally anticipated.

The Sanitary Landfill (Pocahontas County Solid Waste Authority) The Pocahontas County Sanitary Landfill does not have the capacity to process asbestos.

The Greenbrier Environmental Group, an environmental engineering and consulting firm based in Lewisburg, West Virginia, was selected by the Pocahontas County Commission to manage the remediation and assessment of the former Howes Leather Tannery site in Frank, West Virginia.

Their role for this specific EPA Brownfields Clean-up Grant project encompasses two primary responsibilities:

• Asbestos Abatement and Demolition Consulting: The group is responsible for the engineering and consulting related to the removal of asbestos from three or four dilapidated buildings on the tannery property, including the old Howes Office Building. This asbestos abatement is a mandatory prerequisite before the county can safely demolish the structures.
• Groundwater Remediation and Monitoring: The group is also managing the EPA’s Voluntary Groundwater Remediation Project at the site. According to the group's Vice-President, Audrey Sampson, this involves placing the property into the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Voluntary Remediation Program. They are tasked with cleaning up historical groundwater pollutants discharged during the tannery's operations, drilling new groundwater testing wells, and monitoring the site for pollution for three years. Additionally, they must test any fill dirt brought onto the site for pollutants as part of the remediation plan.

The ultimate goal of their work is to ensure the site is cleaned up so the property can be repurposed for future industrial use.

Beyond the tannery project, the Greenbrier Environmental Group, which is founded and co-owned by Matt Ford, is heavily involved in other large-scale development projects across the region, including industrial redevelopments and the installation of over 19 miles of non-motorized trail along the Meadow River.

 

• Local contractors have historically relied on the local landfill for standard construction and demolition (C&D) debris, but hazardous materials like asbestos must be hauled to alternative facilities outside of Pocahontas County, such as the HAM Sanitary Landfill located in Peterstown.
• Furthermore, as the Solid Waste Authority transitions to a new private transfer station model, strict asbestos screening will be enforced. If a waste load is transferred out of the county and found to contain suspect asbestos material, it will be rejected at the destination landfill, creating a massive financial and logistical liability for the local transfer station operator.

Town of Marlinton Projects (Board of Education & Hospital) While the provided sources discuss major infrastructure and demolition projects at these specific sites, the sources do not contain any information regarding asbestos abatement at either the Board of Education building or the hospital.

• Former Board of Education Office Building: The sources document that the County Commission awarded a $148,900 bid to Reclaim Construction to successfully demolish the former BOE office building in the summer of 2024. Following the demolition, leftover Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds were approved to grade the site and eliminate drop-offs. Asbestos removal is not mentioned in relation to this specific demolition.
• Pocahontas Memorial Hospital: The sources outline a grant-funded HVAC project at the hospital requiring over $400,000 for plumbing, construction, pumps, and valves, but no asbestos abatement is mentioned.

Additional Regional Asbestos Inspections On a broader scale, Pocahontas County is part of a Community-Wide Brownfields Assessment Grant administered by the Region IV Planning & Development Council. Under this initiative, the environmental consulting firm Potesta & Associates (POTESTA) was hired to evaluate targeted properties across a five-county region. As part of this grant, POTESTA has performed Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, including asbestos inspections and sampling, on 14 selected sites to prepare them for potential rehabilitation and commercial redevelopment.