ECO-PARK DEVELOPMENT STUDIED IN ROANE - 26-Acre Flat Land Site Available

(04/15/2003)
A California consulting firm is looking at the feasibility of transforming a 26-acre site in Roane County into an environmentally friendly industrial park.

The proposed park would use timber waste as both a power source and raw material for industries that could locate there.

The property is next to an airfield owned by Boggs Aviation, which commissioned the study by Indigo Development. The consulting firm has been involved with the creation of similar eco-industrial parks around the world.

Boggs Aviation co-owner Greg Boggs says the study is being funded by his company and a grant from the West Virginia Development Office. He said the site is rare flat land and could be expanded to 50-acres.

There was a recent three-day meeting with interested groups about what resources the area has and brainstorming for potential tenants.

"Bio mass is anything that is organic. We're looking at mill waster or wood ash that is left out in the forest," he said, with products like methanol and making chip board.

An eco-industrial park is more like an industrial community working together, said Boggs.