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BUSINESS &
CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, April 14 - April 20, 2000 - 49
l00AL EST0000,TE
Conectiv sinks $1.2M in oil cleanup at IR plant
By Jim Cresson
Conectiv officials led a second media
tour of Indian River Power Plant, Tues-
day, April 11, showing the results of
what they termed a $1.2-million, "very
aggressive cleanup operation" they say
has stopped a 600,000-gallon fuel-oil
spill from leaking into Indian River.
Indian River Power Plant manager
Jim Spence stood at the now-excavated
site of the 2-inch underground pipe that
geologists say leaked fuel oil from a
corrosion hole for anywhere from eight
to 12 years before plant workers no-
ticed oil pooling above ground in early
December.
Three recovery wells now surround
the leak site, each with a specially de-
signed filter to separate oil from water.
So far, those recovery wells have drawn
104,000 gallons of oil from the site. In
addition, three sump pumps are work-
ing to accelerate the recovery, and 11
monitoring wells have been strategical-
ly placed around the plant's perimeter
to check for possible expansion of what
is already a leak plumage area that en-
compasses most of the plant site.
"We've been very aggressive in our
approach to this cleanup," said Spence.
"Every step of our project has been
done on or ahead of schedule; and
we've maintained constant contact with
the Coast Guard, the Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental
Control (DNREC) and the Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA). Dur-
ing the first week or two of the effort,
those agencies had people here every
day. since then, they come about twice
a week."
Spence said he and Conectiv officials
at the start of the recovery process "had
no idea the spill would involve such a
big cleanup effort?' He said subcontrac-
tors have been working continuously
on the project. The effort, Spence said,
has occupied his attention "at least half
of every day" since the spill was dis-
covered.
While the recovery wells and sump
pumps have been drawing oil from the
ground round the clock since January,
Conectiv has also taken steps to halt its
flow into the nearby Indian River. On
high ground, some 30-feet before the
land falls off into the river, Conectiv
has sunk a 303-foot-long wall of steel
sheeting into the ground to retard the
oil's downward flow into the river.
At the water's edge, where oil was
discovered in January to be leaking into
Continued on page 50
Jim Cmsson photo
Indian River Power Plant manager Jim
Spenee exhibits one of the new recovery well
filters that separates oil from water.
Happy Harry's to anchor Back Bay Park Center
Michael Short photo
This site near the intersection of Route 24 and Long
Neck Road will soon be home to the Back Bay Park
Center.
By Michael Short
Construction is under way for a large shopping center
at the comer of Route 24 and Sussex 298, just west of
Long Neck Road..
Approximately 90,000 square feet of commercial
space is planned for the Back Bay Park Center. The new
center is located on Route 24 west of Long Neck Road. It
is being developed by Mike Zimmerman of BBC Proper-
ties and will be anchored initially by a Happy Harry's.
Zimmerman's group is perhaps best known locally for
developing the Wal-Mart project in Georgetown, which
is also now under construction.
Plans call for the first phase to be finished by August. A
second and perhaps third phase will follow on the ap-
proximately 22-acre parcel.
Zimmerman said that the area is attracting more year-
round residents. "This [area] is extremely strong growth
wise," he said. "It is going to be a really nice project."
Phase I of Back Bay Park Center will include a Happy
Harry's, a Dollar General Store, a Domino's Pizza and
some smaller stores such as a dry cleaners and other
stores.
Phase II will include a large grocery store of perhaps
50,000 or 60,000 square feet in size. A nursery or hard-
ware store is also expected to be included in phase two.
Phase III, if a third phase is developed, could include
96 senior apartments. Sussex County approved the proj-
ect last year and site work recently began. A large Happy
Harry's sign stands at the comer of the property, which is
now an undeveloped field.
Zimmerman said that negotiations are still under way
with the as yet unnamed grocery store. He has worked on
this project for about two-and-a-half years and noted that
this land is unusually well drained and dry, making it a
perfect site for a shopping center. Zimmerman said they
plan to make $350,000 worth of improvements to neigh-
boring roads, including adding turn and deceleration
lanes to Route 24 and resurfacing Sussex 299.
Everyone benefits from healthy tourism industry
Whether we realize it or not,
each of us is positively affected by
tourism. Every year, our industry
produces more than $1 billion in
direct spending for the state's
economy and more than 22,000
residents have jobs thanks to
tourism.
Delaware's tourism industry
lowers our taxes, preserves histor-
ical and cultural attractions and
creates the need for desirable
amenities.
If it weren't for our visitors, we
would not have the variety of
restaurants or retail stores we cur-
rently enjoy.
Rehoboth Beach's 140 outlet
stores could not be sustained by
the population of southern
Delaware alone, and Harry's
Savoy Grill in Wilmington esti-
mates that 40 percent of their
business comes from non-
Delaware residents.
In Dover, the historic Capitol
Theater is being preserved thanks,
in part to tourism.
The renovated theater will re-
open in mid-2001 as the Schwartz
Center for the Arts, and project
managers expect it to draw visi-
tors from up and down the eastern
shore.
The development of the Chris-
tiana Riverfront has not only cre-
ated jobs and additional tax rev-
enue, it has transformed a de-
pressed industrial area into an up
and coming tourist attraction with
retail, entertainment and cultural
offerings.
Where a vacant warehouse once
stood, we now have the First USA
Riverfront Arts Center, which has
brought thousands of new visitors
through the world-clhss exhibi-
tions hosted there.
The area will be even further
enhanced by the completion of the
Riverwalk this spring and the re-
location of the Delaware Center
for the Contemporary Arts in
June.
The goal of the statewide strate-
gic plan recently completed by
our visitor industry is to enhance
tourism in Delaware by encourag-
ing visitors to stay longer and ex-
perience more of what our state
has to offer.
We also want our visitors to
know that Delaware's seasonal
and event-driven destinations
have much to offer at all times of
the year.
Gov. Thomas Carper has pro-
posed that the Delaware Tourism
Office receive 1 out of every 8
cents collected by the state's 8
percent accommodations tax,
which is paid by Delaware hotel
and motel customers. This could
potentially double the Delaware
Tourism Office's current budget
of $1.2 million.
If the Delaware General Assem-
bly grants the governor's budget
FINANCIAL FOCUS
KEIA BENEFIELD
request, the Delaware Tourism
Office will share the funding with
its industry partners so that we
may work together to establish the
objectives set forth the strategic
plan.
Our current grant program,
which currently provides $50,000
in matching funds for tourism de-
velopment, will be expanded. We
will also create a new funding
program that will assist individual
regions and attractions in promot-
ing themselves.
A healthy tourism industry - one
that promotes the state as a visitor
destination while considering in-
frastructure limitations - equal a
better quality of life for residents
and a memorable experience for
those who visit our state.
With the framework established
through the strategic plan and pos-
sible additional funding from the
state, our industry can effectively
increase Delaware's value as a
visitor destination and most im-
portantly, enhance what makes
our states a great place to live and
work.
Editor's note: Keia Benefield is
the director of the Delaware
Tourism Office.