Residents satisfied with no development on Middle Torch site

By Steve Estes

Residents of Middle Torch Key are satisfied that a former burn dump in the middle of the remote island won’t become anything but vacant land.

The old Baltuff dump site on Middle Torch Key has been a source of consternation for adjacent residents for a couple of years. The site is currently owned by Habitat for Humanity of Key West and the Lower Keys. It was given to that group several years ago.

Residents had been concerned that since Habitat is in the business of building affordable housing, it might attempt to put a housing complex on that site despite its location in an environmentally sensitive area.

The site is surrounded by primarily vacant land, most of which is wetlands or tidal pools and subject to flooding during heavy rain events.

The area was used as a burn dump for Key West, Monroe County and the US Navy for many years. As a result of its history, the site was accepted as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownsfield Program. That program grants money to agencies to clean up environmentally sensitive sites.

After its service as a burn dump, the site has been used for years as an illegal dumping ground. There are old fuel tanks, old trailer frames, trash, metal, plastic and oils littering the ground.

Initial ground testing shows that the area is contaminated with heavy metals and will require some clean up before any use could be made of the property. How extensive that clean up might have to be hasn’t yet been determined.

As part of the application procedure for Brownsfield funds to pay for the environmental clean up Habitat had to project a future use of the property. That future use was as a possible recreational vehicle park for habitat volunteers, and that didn’t sit well with area neighbors.

“There was never a chance that we could use that land for housing,” said Habitat executive director Bob Calhoun. “It’s a wetland, it’s Tier One land, and it’s surrounded by conservation land.”

Habitat recently made a deal to sell or donate the property to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the residents expressed satisfaction at that.

“Habitat indicates this it is withdrawing its plans for an RV park on the site. The new end use after clean up will be donation/sale to the wildlife refuge, and no development,” wrote Caron Balkany, an attorney representing the residents. “Obviously we are very pleased with this change and are most appreciative that Habitat listened to our concerns.”

USFWS has a long-standing program of land acquisition from willing sellers, although representatives were hesitant to fully commit to a purchase prior to the clean up of the site at a meeting a couple of months ago.

“Who cleans up the site using the Brownsfield grant is still open to some discussion I believe,” said Calhoun. “Habitat is not in the business of rehabilitating contaminated land, so we would be happy to turn that over to someone with more expertise.”