Dow Chemical has agreed to fund groundwater testing at Shawnee Regional Park, where local officials want to build a huge youth sports complex.
This comes in the wake of a lawsuit alleging that decades of chemical manufacturing at the Institute plant contaminated the groundwater beneath nearby West Virginia State University.
Dow's Union Carbide unit "will fully fund the testing of the groundwater," as well as "an independent consultant's evaluation" of the sampling results, according to a statement emailed by Carrie Houtman, director of issues management and crisis communications for Dow.
The statement did not specify what kind of tests would be done, make clear the timing for the work or identify the consultant. The statement said Carbide "is committed to the health, safety, and well-being of the communities in which it operates."
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said he had been pressing Dow to fund the tests but that he did not yet know exactly what sort of sampling is planned.
At West Virginia State and the neighboring West Virginia Rehabilitation Center property, testing has been done to determine not only the levels of chemicals in the groundwater, but also to examine the levels of chemical vapors making their way up through the soil and to measure contamination levels in the air. The Dow statement referred only to "testing of the groundwater."
"I assume it will be similar to that," Carper said. "I assume we're going to do all of that."
Carper said he expects that groundwater sampling will find some chemical contamination but that he would not commit to cleaning it up until he sees the sampling results and hears from the consultant that Dow is going to provide the funding.
"I would expect to find some form of contamination. It's not unusual to have that around a chemical plant," Carper said. "I would have to see the report first and rely on the experts. I will exercise due diligence."
Houtman did not respond to an interview request or to questions seeking additional information about what Dow plans to fund. Dow has not responded to requests for comment on the West Virginia State lawsuit, and the company's local counsel, Tom Heywood, said he is not authorized to answer news media questions about the matter.
Kanawha County officials are considering building a multi-sport complex at the park located near the plant in Institute. The complex would include four collegiate-size turf baseball/softball fields, six collegiate turf soccer/lacrosse fields, several grass practice fields, a community building, playgrounds with shelters and parking lots. Supporters have promoted the project by saying it would draw out-of-state teams for travel-sports tournaments.
Last month, West Virginia State sued Dow and earlier owners of the Institute chemical plant, alleging that the facility had contaminated the groundwater beneath the campus and beneath the former West Virginia Rehabilitation Center, which State now owns. The rehab center property is just to the east of the chemical plant, the university just to the east of the rehab center, and Shawnee Park to the east of the campus.
University officials insist that the contamination poses no health risks, in part because the campus does not use groundwater for its drinking water. State says the pollution threatens campus development plans and, once made public, harms state's local and national reputation.
University officials and lawyers said three contaminants have been found at "elevated levels" in the groundwater 15 to 50 feet beneath the campus. The chemicals are 1,4-dioxane, 1,1-dichloroethane and chloroform. It is not clear which of the various chemical units that operated over the years at the plant led to the groundwater contamination. While the university said testing has found some chemicals above screening levels that would require more investigation, it said the levels found do not create any health threats to students, faculty, staff, students or others on campus.
University officials said they learned of the contamination about four years ago but did not tell the university community or the public about the issue until the day the lawsuit was filed last month.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter.