A large portion of JEA’s Downtown Southbank property where its Southside Generating Station once stood is environmentally sound, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
In an email sent to the utility last week, the department said it intended to issue a “Site Rehabilitation Completion Order with Controls” for part of the 42-acre site at 801 Broadcast Place.
The 53-page order says in part that “JEA has satisfied the site rehabilitation requirements
and is released from any further obligation to conduct site rehabilitation at the contaminated sites.”
As required by law, JEA published a public notice of the department’s intentions Thursday, giving the public 30 days to inspect the site and provide comment.
If no comments are made, the completion order will be issued.
Through email, a department spokeswoman said the Site Rehabilitation Completion Order addresses the soil issues on the entire property and groundwater contamination issues on the eastern half of the property.
The western portion is being treated for arsenic found in the groundwater.
According to the environmental protection department, contamination was first discovered in 1995.
The state agency said the property contained “metals, volatile organic compounds, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, and total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons,” as well as PCB compounds specific to one area of concern.
The land is part of the Hazardous Waste Program, administered by the department under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Program.
The department found 13 “areas of concern” on the property.
The recovery act manages cleanup on a propertywide basis, in this case the entire 42 acres, rather than just individual areas of concern.
However, the department spokeswoman said it issues completion orders for individual areas of the land as they’re cleaned.
While JEA is responsible for the remaining cleanup of the western part of the land, media relations coordinator Gerri Boyce said there is an ongoing system to continue that process once the land is sold and that “the remedial system currently in place will be assumed by the buyer.”
A hydraulic pumping system was installed in 2012 to keep contaminated groundwater from spilling into the St. Johns River.
The generating station operated from 1947 to 2001, when it was decommissioned, a process JEA said took about 10 years to complete.
In 2003, another substation was built on the southern part of the site, leaving about 30 acres available for private development.
Since the station’s closure, JEA said it has spent more than $28 million decommissioning the site and cleaning up soil and groundwater issues stemming from the facility’s operation as a fuel oil and natural gas-fired electric generating station.
A proposed sale of the property is pending. Investors want to transform the remaining 30 acres into a mixed-use development.
In January 2015, Peter Rummell, the managing partner of Elements Development of Jacksonville LLC, agreed to buy the property from JEA for about $18.5 million.
His project, called The District, includes 150,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space, a marina and a 150-room hotel.
The development would “inspire and promote a healthy lifestyle” for people wanting to live near downtown.
Rummell could not be reached for comment.
During a news conference for the One Spark festival in June, Rummell said negotiations are ongoing and that he and the utility are moving though due diligence before closing on the purchase.
Boyce confirmed that a due diligence period for the sale had been extended for a third time in October, pushing a closing date no later than Dec. 29.