A once bleak outlook for residents and property owners in pesticide-contaminated Barber Orchard is brightening.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently placed the 500-acre Haywood County subdivision on the National Priorities List. That means federal Superfund monies will be available to clean any soil or groundwater that poses a health threat.

“We are sampling right now to see what may need to be done and on what properties,” said Diane Barrett, an EPA community relations specialist in Atlanta.

But the federal assurance of removing contaminants is only part of the good news. In addition, at least three properties — two houses and a lot — have sold in the subdivision this year. Many in the real estate and banking business have said that once properties started selling, others would likely follow.
They say the current activity is a positive sign for those who two years ago feared their investments in the subdivision would never be worth anything.

“Things are going real well up there,” said Carroll Mease of Main Street Realty, who helped sell one of the houses and the lot.

“I got a fair price. I pretty much got my money back,” said Bill Studenc, who sold his lot in the subdivision on Sept. 4.

The Barber Orchard saga began in 1999 after a resident in the subdivision near Balsam sampled her well water. Contaminants associated with pesticides commonly used on apple orchards were detected.
Further testing showed unhealthy levels of arsenic and lead. The groundwater and the soil were contaminated.

The EPA conducted an emergency cleanup of 28 lots from October 1999 until August 2000. More than 31,500 tons of soil were removed and taken to a landfill in Buford, Ga.

Also federal grants have been received to run water lines from Waynesville to the orchard. Engineering studies are currently being conducted.

The NPL listing, however, will provide money for further cleanup if it is necessary. Last month monitoring wells were installed at sites in the orchard, and the first samples were taken last month. A second round of samples will be collected in October. Soil sampling is also underway.

“By March 2002 we will submit written documentation as to what has been found,” said Barrett.
This sampling will determine which properties will be eligible for the additional cleaning. Barrett was unsure when additional work could begin in the subdivision, but said everything considered dangerous will be cleaned.

“Nothing will happen immediately, but now we have the funding to clean up everything,” she said.
According to Realtor Jane Smathers of Coldwell Banker in Waynesville, two houses are listed in the county’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as having been sold since January of this year. One sold in January for for $260,000 after having been listed for $279,900. Another sold in July for $266,500 after having been listed for $274,500.

Studenc did not provide the exact price of his lot. When it looked as if it would be impossible to build in the subdivision two years ago because banks would not loan money, he purchased a home in another part of Haywood County. Now, he said it appears some lending institutions have gotten over their reluctance.

Mease said a local bank, Carolina Community, had lent money for the purchase of one of the homes.
Waynesville real estate appraiser Fred Spencer, however, said appraisers are still reluctant to estimate values for properties in the subdivision.

“I would shy away from taking a job appraising property in Barber Orchard,” he said.

 

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