3M announces plan to convert Brookhaven property into park

Jan. 12—The former Brookhaven Middle School will be demolished early this year and the 15 acres on which it sits will be turned into a park that could include splash pads, a playground, picnic areas and athletic facilities, according to an announcement today by 3M Co.

The announcement expands on a filing 3M made in August with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

3M said it also plans to redevelop the 23-acre Aquadome site and softball fields adjacent to Brookhaven in the future. Under a settlement with the city of Decatur, 3M will take title to the Aquadome property once the city completes construction of a planned recreation center at Wilson Morgan Park.

Both Brookhaven and the Aquadome sit on a closed municipal and industrial landfill off Eighth Street Southwest that received waste from the 1940s until the early 1960s and was closed in 1964. 3M opened its Decatur plant in 1961, and some of its waste was put in the landfill.

3M waste had high levels of perfluoroalkyl substances, referred to as PFAS or "forever chemicals," and a 2020 study by 3M found PFAS in the soil, groundwater and surface water on both the Aquadome and Brookhaven properties.

Brookhaven has been unused since 2019. Also in 2019, Decatur City Schools gave notice of its intent to sue 3M over the contaminants. In 2020, 3M settled the claim by purchasing the Brookhaven property for $1.25 million.

According to 3M's announcement, the contaminants in the soil are below levels that create a health risk.

"Detections of PFAS in the surficial soil — the first 6 inches of topsoil — are below the conservative U.S. Environmental Protection Agency soil screening levels for recreational use," according to 3M's statement.

3M said it will seek community input, as well as input from ADEM, before deciding what features to include in the planned Brookhaven park.

— eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.