Community Involvement Advisory Council Workshop - Response To Public Comments On Brownfields Development Agreement - Set For 3PM Tomorrow In Millsboro

John Flaherty sent this along ~

CIAC sets public workshop on development of Vlasic
Pickle/Pinnacle site for Thursday, Nov. 21 in Millsboro

DOVER (Nov. 20, 2013) – DNREC’s Community Involvement Advisory Council (CIAC) will hold a public workshop Thursday, Nov. 21, on the potential redevelopment of the former Vlasic Pickle site at 29984 Pinnacle Way in Dagsboro. The workshop is scheduled from 3-5 p.m. at the Millsboro Town Hall, 322 Wilson Highway, Millsboro, DE 19966.

 

Allen M. Harim Foods has entered into a brownfields development  agreement (BDA) with DNREC, with the intent of purchasing the site and converting the facility to a poultry processing plant. A BDA is an agreement between DNREC and a brownfields developer with respect to a Certified Brownfields Site that sets forth a scope of work and remedial activities during development of the site. A second opportunity for public comment – a public hearing on the brownfields development agreement and a proposed plan of remediation by DNREC’s Site Investigation and Restoration Section – is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the Millsboro Fire Hall, 109 E. State Street, Millsboro, DE 19966, and starting at 6 p.m.

 

The workshop will afford concerned residents an opportunity to understand environmental issues being addressed by DNREC in the event that the former Vlasic Pickle site is acquired by Allen M. Harim Foods and converted to a poultry processing plant.

 

Thursday’s workshop is the Community Involvement Advisory Council’s response to public comments on the brownfields development agreement. DNREC subject matter experts will be present at the workshop to address specific questions about the site. The Department of Health and Social Services’ Office of Drinking Water (ODW) will also be present to discuss surrounding community drinking water systems to the Vlasic/Pinnacle site.

 

A panel of subject-matter experts will provide an overview of the permitting processes, and also will explain the public health and environmental protection provided by DNREC’s permitting programs. DNREC and ODW staff will be available for questions at poster stations located throughout the hall. Subject matter experts will reconvene for a question-and-answer session at the close of the workshop.

 

The CIAC was established in 2001, under Senate Bill 33 to enable communities to interact with DNREC in an effective manner. The 11-member body is appointed by the Governor to advise the DNREC Secretary on matters such as the relationships and interactions between the Department and communities throughout the state. In addition to its primary charge of assuring that no community is disparately affected by environmental impacts, the CIAC is also responsible for increasing community participation and the flow of information between communities and the Department.

 

For more information, please contact James Brunswick, DNREC community ombudsman, at 302-739-9000, or Robert Newsome, Site Investigation and Restoration Section public information officer, at 302-395-2600.

 

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