Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 3, 1993 TAG: 9306030243
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"There is some stuff in there that is unacceptable," said Dean Downs, an inspector with the state Department of Environmental Quality.
The construction debris - visible from Niagara Road in Vinton - includes insulation, drywall, plastic pipe and blue stadium seats from the LancerLot hockey arena that was condemned in March after the roof collapsed.
Under state law, only inert materials such as soil, bricks and concrete may be used as fill material. General construction debris must be disposed of at a permitted landfill.
It was unclear Wednesday how the illegal material found its way in the fill area, located between the LancerLot and Niagara Road.
LancerLot owner Henry Brabham hired a demolition contractor to tear down the hockey arena as part of his plans to reopen the fitness club portion of the facility.
Demolition contractor Alan Amos said that his crews dumped only concrete on property owned by Brabham. Amos said he has a thick stack of receipts from the regional landfill to prove his company hauled the rest of the construction debris to the regional landfill.
Brabham, who runs an oil company, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
His son, Hank, said his father was aware of the situation and would see to it that anything improper was removed.
Hank Brabham acknowledged that some construction debris may have been tossed over the side of the fill, but denied that any had been buried.
"We're going to get all of that stuff out of there. It wasn't any big deal."
Amos urged the Roanoke Times & World-News to wait until state officials had completed their investigation before writing a story.
"I don't think Mr. Brabham should be harassed any more," Amos said.
Brabham's efforts to reopen the fitness center portion of the LancerLot after the hockey arena's roof collapsed became more complicated - and costly - following a Roanoke Times & World-News story in March.
The newspaper reported that Vinton town officials had never issued a permanent certificate of occupancy for the three-story LancerLot because of unresolved fire and building code violations.
Roanoke County later ordered Brabham to install a fire sprinkler system and limit weight loads on the second and third floors.
Two weeks ago, Brabham said he hoped to reopen the family fitness center this month and build an outdoor pool and construct a new, smaller hockey arena.
Final plans for the hockey arena depend upon discussions and coordination with the insurance company, banks and building officials, Brabham said.
by CNB