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2006 Demonstration Project
Slag: Midvale, Utah
THE SITE: The 446-acre Midvale Slag Superfund site is located about
12 miles south of Salt Lake City in Midvale, Utah, and is divided into two
operable units. Operable Unit 01 (OU1) comprises the northern 266 acres
of the site and the Winchester Estates mobile home park. Operable Unit
02 (OU2) comprises the southern 180 acres of the site.
Since smelting activities began in 1871, five separate smelters were located
on or near the site until the last smelter closed in 1958. The adjacent mill
continued operating until 1971. The smelters treated ores from Bingham
Canyon and other mines. Studies initiated in 1984 found that ground
water and soil are contaminated with heavy metals. In 1990, EPA initiated
cleanup actions to excavate contaminated soils, remove chemicals and
explosives from an abandoned lab, and remove contaminated soils
from residential yards and put clean soil in its place. Cleanup of OU1 is
complete.
The 2002 Record of Decision (ROD) for OU2 divided the remaining work
into three parts: the smelter waste and slag, the ground water, and the
riparian zone. EPA and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality
(UDEQ) coordinated with the City of Midvale, as well as property owners
and a local citizens' group (Citizens for a Safe Future for Midvale),
to consider redevelopment possibilities and integrate redevelopment
opportunities into the Superfund remedy. The smelter waste and slag were
remediated under a Consent Decree with Littleson, Inc. This work is now
complete. The ground water remedy is being implemented by UDEQ.
The ground water design has been completed and it is anticipated that the
remedial action will start soon. The riparian zone work is in the remedial
design phase.
The Sharon Steel Superfund site is located immediately south of Midvale
Slag OU2. Sharon Steel operated as a mill feeding the smelter and was
listed separately on the National Priorities List (NPL). Contamination
from the Sharon Steel site in the form of mill tailings is also located on
the Midvale Slag site. The Sharon Steel Superfund site is a 2004 Return
to Use demonstration project.
THE OPPORTUNITY: Midvale Slag, along with its sister site, Sharon
Steel, comprise the majority of the City of Midvale's available land for
expansion. The sites present unique opportunities to create a sustainable
community in the heart of Midvale, a rapidly growing bedroom community
Barriers:
Institutional controls prohibiting likely
future uses; stigma regarding the
future use of the site
Solution:
Explanation of Significant Differences
changing the institutional controls to
allow for likely future use that will
maintain protectiveness of the remedy;
Ready for Reuse determination to
reaffirm site limitations and overcome
stigma
Before:
Midvale had no available land for
future development. EPA and the
State of Utah worked with the City
to re-zone the industrial property to
residential and commercial.
After:
New Bingham Junction Boulevard
and Utah Transit Authority mass
transit line will be completed in 2009.
Currently, about 500 residential units
are completed, as well as ongoing
development for more residential and
commercial properties.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
updated June 2009
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for Salt Lake City, Utah. A reuse plan entitled the Bingham Junction Reuse Assessment and Master Plan was
developed in conjunction with the City of Midvale and landowners. It presented an innovative community
destined to become Bingham Junction, which made the most of its proximity to the Jordan River. The plan called
for residential, commercial, and recreational uses.
THE BARRIERS: The primary barriers to reuse on OU1 of the Midvale Slag site were institutional controls
prescribed by the ROD that call for "implementing deed restrictions" that would preclude future excavations
that might disturb a monolayer soil cover on a specific section of the site. According to the ROD, these deed
restrictions would prohibit future residential land use unless the property underwent additional remediation to
meet soil cleanup levels. In addition, there remained ongoing concerns about the stigma associated with using a
former Superfund site. The ROD for OU1 was written much earlier in the cleanup process, and was not able to
benefit from the future use information contained in the reuse assessment and master plan.
THE SOLUTION: Since the ROD, the zoning for OU1 had changed to allow for uses other than industrial.
As a result of the zoning change, EPA worked with Midvale City to establish a decision making process for
determining whether a parcel of land in OU1 was suitable for recreational or residential reuse and whether any
institutional controls were needed. EPA signed an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) in 2006 that
eliminated the need for institutional controls on one of the parcels in OU1, thereby allowing for additional land
uses, such as residential, commercial, and recreational. Because the OU1 ROD envisioned an industrial future
use, the ESD enabled EPA to work with Midvale City to place institutional controls on portions of the property
that are zoned commercial, while further remediation took place on areas that are zoned residential. Although
it was not necessary to further remediate the residential areas in OU1, the developer wanted to be able to have
residential properties that were free of institutional controls. These changes allowed for the future uses envisioned
by the community. A Ready for Reuse (RfR) Determination was composed for OU1 to inform the public about the
uses for which the site is protective.
THE SITE NOW: The majority of work at the site is completed and redevelopment is beginning on both operable
units. The end result is a large scale, mixed-use development that incorporates major retail and office space as
well as housing for Midvale City. Alight rail line is planned to pass through the site, allowing for Transit Oriented
Development opportunities. Midvale City has passed ordinances that implementthe institutional controls for the site;
these institutional controls will help to ensure the ongoing protectiveness of the site's remedy. Riparian restoration
along the Jordan River began in 2008 in accordance with EPAs Clean Water Act (wetlands) requirements and the
State of Utah's ambient water quality standards and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife habitat protection requirements.
A Jordan River Stakeholders group meets to address the requirements and to ensure collaboration among all
parties. Once the riparian work is completed, this area will be a linear City park, with the trail linking up with the
Greater Salt lake area trail system. Ground water monitoring wells will be installed and monitored by UDEQ. The
well installation is being coordinated with the ongoing development. The RfR determination was issued in June
2008.The successful cleanup and revitalization of this highly contaminated site has lead to the redevelopment
of an affordable community within the City of Midvale. This reuse is protective,sustainable, and benefits local
citizens.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Erna Waterman, Remedial Project Manager for the site, at (303)
312-6762 or waterman.erna@epa.gov: or Frances Costanzi, Region 8 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, at
(303)312-6571 or costanzi.frances@,epa.gov
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
updated June 2009
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