LOCATION: Sheridan, Wyo.

LAND USE: A paved parking and pedestrian area used by the community to access the city of Sheridan’s walking path/trail system along Little Goose Creek near Alger Avenue.

PROPERTY SIZE: 0.59 acres.

TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $ 523,000
Itemized: WDEQ VRP Brownfield Assistance Program: $200,000
Whitney Benefits: $323,000

BACKGROUND:The site, located adjacent to Sheridan’s central business district, was historically used by various owners as a bulk fueling station. The site ceased operations sometime in the 1980s. Goose Creek Properties purchased the site in 1997 for the potential expansion needs of Rehabilitation Enterprises of North Eastern Wyoming (RENEW) which at the time, was located in an adjacent building. The bulk fueling station was dismantled in 2003.

Upon completion of a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment in 2003, Goose Creek Properties entered the site into Wyoming’s Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP). Additional investigations were conducted in 2005, at which time it was determined that both groundwater and soil exceeded cleanup levels. In 2009, a local community college (Sheridan College) purchased the site.

FUNDING: Because of the public benefits that would result from the cleanup and redevelopment of the site, in January 2007 $200,000 in cleanup assistance was awarded by the VRP Brownfields Assistance Program to Goose Creek Properties to finance the cleanup of the property. Whitney Benefits, a local non-profit educational foundation supports numerous community and educational projects in the City of Sheridan, including the development of Sheridan’s walking path/trail system. Whitney Benefits provided funding for the redevelopment (parking lot, curb/gutter, sidewalks, landscaping) of the site.

REMEDIATION: Clean up at the former Ancar site included the removal of soils impacted by petroleum, the installation of a wind powered passive soil venting system, the application of an oxygen release compound and monitoring of contaminated groundwater pursuant to a remedy agreement. Engineering and institutional controls have also been implemented to control exposures to impacted soils and groundwater until cleanup objectives are met. The remediation supported by this Brownfields Assistance project have provided public benefits including but not limited to protection of a nearby creek and human exposures to pollutants, increased property values, thus increasing property tax revenue, and the leveraging of at least $323,00 in non-governmental funds for the redevelopment of a property important to the vitality of the downtown Sheridan area.