Property owner to pay for cleanup

April 11, 2009|By MATTHEW UMSTEAD

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The owner of a commercial property next to Eagle School Intermediate has agreed to pay for cleanup of about 50 gallons of oil that were intentionally dumped there earlier this year, according to a West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman.

George Van Wagner was identified as the owner of Manor Park Plaza LLC, according to DEP communications director Kathy Cosco.

The DEP has issued notices of violation for dumped oil and still were trying to determine who opened a spigot on the tank allowing the oil to go into the soil, Cosco said when asked recently about the dumping.

Aside from being a targeted dumping ground, Manor Park Plaza is the subject of ongoing federal bankruptcy proceedings, according to court documents on file with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

In February, bankruptcy judge Patrick M. Flatley signed an order, granting Branch Banking and Trust Co. (BB&T) relief from an automatic stay, allowing the bank to foreclose on the property as a means to collect from Van Wagner.

The illegal dumping outraged neighboring residents and is one of a number of cases that have been brought to Donna Seiler, Berkeley County's only code enforcement officer, who is tasked with responding to health, safety and welfare concerns, such as illegal dumping and substandard residential conditions.

Seiler said Friday she now has more than 140 open cases and likely will add a few more after a sweep last week of Sportsman's Paradise subdivision along the Potomac River near Marlowe, W.Va., in northern Berkeley County.

Since being tapped for the newly created position last fall, Seiler said she has been able to close 69 cases as of Friday.

The Sportsman's Paradise sweep yielded the discovery of significant amounts of trash, and Seiler expects to receive state-level support for some cleanup efforts this week, she said.

"It's so positive," Seiler said of the outcomes she has been able to help bring about in partnership with a host of other agencies, including the DEP, health department and others. "I'm getting nothing but positive feedback."

Individuals who wish to file a complaint regarding International Building Code violations or other health and safety concerns may call Seiler at the Berkeley County Planning Department at 304-267-5091 or send an e-mail to dseiler@berkeleycountycomm.org.

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