The subject property consists of one parcel totaling 0.601 acres and is located on the northwest corner of the North River Street and East Cross Street intersection in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan (Figure 1). The subject property is developed with two single-story train depot buildings connected by a wood canopy. The northwestern building, containing approximately 3,109 square feet, was built in 1864. The southeastern building, containing approximately 1,010 square feet, was built in 1853. Grass and pavement are present throughout the remainder of the property, aside from the railroad tracks that run along the west side of the subject property. The subject property is currently vacant and not in use.
PM reviewed a Phase I ESA completed by Quantum dated July 16, 2024.
Standard and other historical resources reviewed as part of the Phase I ESA document that the subject property was initially developed with the existing depot buildings around 1864 and was in operation until 1985. Fire insurance maps show railroad tracks had been located east of the depot buildings in 1888 until the early 1900's. The railroad tracks west of the depot buildings also appear to have been present since the depot buildings' construction. Additionally, a freight depot was present on the west side of the western-adjoining railroad tracks from at least 1888 until approximately 1960.
A review of Quantum's July 2024 Phase I ESA has revealed the following RECs:
* The site consists of an abandoned passenger train depot located adjacent to existing, active railroad tracks on an approximately 0.5-acre triangular parcel. Our historical review of the property revealed that the depot buildings were constructed in 1864. Fire insurance maps show railroad tracks had been located east of the depot in 1888 (and likely earlier) until the early 1900's, and the railroad tracks west of the site have also likely been located there since construction of the depot. The construction, maintenance and use of railroad tracks can involve the use of a variety of chemicals, and the most commonly reported contamination along rail lines includes metals, pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum products. Moreover, a freight depot had been located west of the site since at least 1888 (and possibly earlier) until approximately 1960, on the west side of the tracks, where materials of concern could have been spilled or discarded during loading and unloading procedures.
* During the site inspection, a total of eight 55-gallon drums were noted inside the buildings (seven in the depot building and one in the smaller, baggage building). These drums were all similar (yellow plastic with no obvious labels or markings) and at least some appeared empty. Quantum recommended that these drums be inspected for contents and then property sample (as appropriate) and dispose of the drums and any materials identified. These areas should be reinspected once the drums are removed to determine if there are signs of spills or leaks.
No adjoining and/or nearby REC have been identified.
On December 11 and 12, 2024, PM completed subsurface investigation activities that consisted of advancing ten soil borings (SB-1 through SB-10) to a maximum depth of 20.0 feet bgs, installing five temporary monitoring wells (SB/TMW-1, SB/TMW-4, SB/TMW-7, SB/TMW-8, and SB/TMW-10), collecting ten soil samples and five groundwater samples for laboratory analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, herbicides, and Michigan-10 metals or some combination thereof. The soil boring/temporary monitoring well locations are depicted on Figures 3 and 4. Soil boring/temporary monitoring well logs are provided in Appendix A.
No concentrations of VOCs, SVOCs, PCBs, pesticides, herbicides, and/or metals were detected in any of the soil or groundwater samples collected from the property exceeding laboratory method detection l