Return to Use Initiative
2009 Demonstration Proi(
Cherokee County:
Galena, Kansas
Barrier: Unknown future land
uses
THE SITE: The Cherokee County site spans 115 square miles in the
southeastern corner of Kansas. The site is a portion of the Tri-State Mining
District, which was formerly one of the richest lead and zinc ore producing
deposits in the world. Mining operations began at the site in the mid-1800s and
when they concluded in 1970, lead, zinc, and cadmium tailings had contaminated
soil and the shallow ground water aquifer used by local residents. EPA added the
site to its National Priorities List in 1983. To address contamination, EPA divided
the site into seven sub-sites and grouped it into seven operable units (OUs). These
sub-sites and OUs included residences, ground water, tailing piles and ponds,
abandoned structures, and large tracts of land where subsurface mining activities had left labyrinths of underground
caverns. To address soil contamination on these tracts of land, EPA consolidated soil in the collapsed land features and
graded and covered them with clean soil. Three of the seven OUs are clean and ready for limited reuse. Capped areas
maintain 12-16 inches of clean soil and have been re-seeded with native grasses.
Solution: Evaluating future
land uses through an enhanced
stakeholder involvement process
THE OPPORTUNITY: Cleanup is complete at over 50 percent of the site.
Some of the remedies in place address ground water contamination and residential
soils. To accommodate future use on expanses of land with the consolidated
tailings, EPA adjusted its initial soil remedy from that of filling, grading, and
seeding to one of capping contaminated soil before covering it with a thicker layer
of clean fill, then grading and seeding. The amended remedy works well and
allows for cattle to graze on portions of the site and for other agricultural land uses,
like hay production, to be considered. It could also support a variety of
undetermined future uses. Site owners at cleaned up OUS, the approximately 160-
acre Baxter Springs OU, have expressed interest in reusing their land for
economically viable purposes.
Before: Cleaned up portion of
Superfund site available for
undetermined, restricted use with
stakeholder interest in reuse
After: Cleaned up portion of
Superfund site that supports "
wider range of reuses
a
THE BARRIERS: To determine economically viable and appropriate future land uses at the Baxter Springs OU,
stakeholders need to gather more information about possible land reuses permitted by the remedy and set collective reuse
goals for their property. One possible future use is alternative energy and biofuel crops. To explore this option, site
stakeholders would need to determine how feasible such activities might be.
THE SOLUTION: Stakeholders at the Cherokee County OUS site plan to engage in an enhanced stakeholder
involvement process. This would allow stakeholders to determine appropriate future land uses and to take a
closer look at the viability of alternative energy reuses. In addition, it would enable EPA to bring together
relevant stakeholders to determine future land uses that complement the needs of the community.
THE SITE NOW: EPA's transition from a remedy that did not adequately support future land uses to one that does
has allowed for steps to be taken bring stakeholders interested in reuse together, determine reuse goals, and move forward
vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
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with reuse efforts. In 2009, with the support of EPA, plans are underway for the Cherokee County OU3 enhanced
stakeholder involvement process.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Dave Drake, Remedial Project Manager, at (913)
551-7626 or drake.dave@epa.gov: or Tonya Howell, Region 7 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, at (913)
551-7589 or howell.tonya@epa.gov.
United States
Environmental Protection
I Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
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