A contaminated property next to Land Trust for the Little Tennesse’s office in Franklin could have a brighter future now that the land conservation organization has purchased it. 

“I never paid that much attention to this part of town until our offices moved here,” said Ben Laseter, LTLT’s associate director. “LTLT staff parks behind the building, so every day I’d park my car and be face-to-face with this adjacent lot full of tanks, barrels and pumps from its days as an oil distribution business and service station. It seemed kind of ironic that this was right next door to a non-profit dedicated to conserving this wonderful part of the world we live in.”

The 1.5-acre property used to belong to Duncan Oil. Containing 350 feet of Little Tennessee River frontage, the land took a beating during the 40-plus years it was used for storing and distributing petroleum. 

Hopefully, those effects will soon be in the past. Since purchasing the land, LTLT has removed 954 tons of contaminated soil and three underground petroleum tanks from it. Future cleanup will include removing above-ground storage tanks and contaminated soil on the property, and remediation of contaminated groundwater.

“There are so many options, and I hope by LTLT cleaning up this one property, we can have a hand in helping start the revitalization of this area in Franklin,” Laseter said.