Cram It, RIFA (& Your MegaPark, Too)!

The Army Corps of Engineers can be difficult to work with at times…

Here’s the latest letter to the Regional Industrial Facilities Authority from the Army Corps of Engineers. Unsurprisingly, the Corps doesn’t seem very cooperative.

Let’s take a look at some of the interesting parts of this letter…

The Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Market Analysis submitted as supporting documentation in your December 2014 revised Joint Permit Application identified manufacturers of wood and paper products, plastics and rubber, or fabricated metal products as potential tenants of the site. The JLL Market Analysis estimated, depending on the “user types” that  construction of 300 net acres of manufacturing space would create 1,900 to 3,500 full-time jobs that would result in $43 to $100 million per year over the next 5 years in consumer expenditures.

Well, then. This doesn’t mean that’s exactly what economic development people are going for, but it’s a good lead into their thought processes. That’s also a big number of jobs, but remember that this is just an economic study. These types of economic studies are well-known for coming up with results that are very helpful for the people who pay for them. Take that for what it’s worth.

The Burlington-Hurt site in Pittsylvania County was the only site considered suitable for the Berry Hill “target user  types”. However, this site was discounted due to “potential unforeseen environmental remediation” required as part of a brownfield site cleanup. There are numerous federal and state incentive programs that could assist RIFA in further assessing and cleaning up a brownfield site. In light of those programs, please provide additional analysis regarding the Burlington-Hurt site and its ability to meet the RIFAs stated purpose and need.

Yep. You have to prove to the Corps that you must have whatever building you want right where you want it and it can’t be at some other place that won’t disturb wetlands… or some crap like that. And besides that, how contaminated is that old Burlington plant site outside of Hurt? The word is “potential” in the letter, but it was a textile plant with a lot of chemicals being used in the past.

The proposed impacts to waters of the United States include the permanent loss of 6,491 linear feet of stream channel and 7.07 acres of wetlands and temporary impacts to 1,229 linear feet of stream channel for the development of pad sites, utilities, and a rail spur. The impacts are in the Trotter’s Creek and McGuff Creek watersheds which drain to the Dan River, a major tributary to the Roanoke River. The Dan River and Roanoke River are interstate waters, and all these waters are tributaries to the Albemarle Sound.

I’m not an opponent to environment preservation, but OH COME ON PEOPLE! This is 7 acres deep inside those Berry Hill woods and small streams. I find it quite hard to believe that the 924,137 deer in that area don’t have the brains to walk 1/2 a mile away to another small stream to drink. If they are that stupid, then well, that’s their problem. As for the toebone’s connected to the footbone, the footbone’s connected to the legbone, the legbone’s connected to the hipbone thing up there…. horsecrap. The Albemarle Sound will be just fine even if you paved the entire Berry Hill MegaPark.

At present, it is unclear how RIFA defines “an industrial user capable of providing a transformational, substantial positive economic impact to the Danville/Pittsylvania County area.” Please provide additional information (i.e. number of jobs created, dollar amount of capital investiture, etc.) better defining and supporting the necessary “transformational, substantial positive economic impact.” A clear understanding of this benchmark is necessary to fully evaluate the range of users and site options that may be available to meet your project need.

The corps is calling economic development and the lawyers out for using buzzwords that have little or no meaning in reality. The lawyers and economic development folks have to use words like that is because they’ve got no companies locked in and ready to go. One reason that they don’t have a company locked in and ready to go is that a big business isn’t going to want to have to wait for this permitting process.

The Army Corps of Engineers can be quite overzealous in their mission of preserving wetlands. They’ve already gotten the congressional smackdown on not issuing permits when there’s no wetlands preservation in play, and it’s time for them to swallow a dose of common sense on something as stupidly obvious as this. This letter will be discussed at Monday’s RIFA meeting and we’ll have LIVE! coverage on that on SouthsideCentral. That meeting starts at 12N. Be sure to check in for the latest.