vvEPA RCRA Brownfields
Prevention Initiative:
Targeted Site Efforts 2003
Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment (5105T) & Office of Solid Waste (5303W) Quick Reference Fact Sheet
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Brownfields Prevention Initiative is a U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency effort that capitalizes on opportunities for statutory and regulatory
flexibility in the RCRA cleanup program to accelerate site cleanup, facilitate dialogue, and integrate
reuse and redevelopment issues, as appropriate, into cleanup decisions. In the longerterm, EPA's goal
for this initiative is to help expedite cleanups at RCRA sites, thus enabling the creation of new jobs,
businesses, and greenspace for communities. The RCRA Targeted Site Efforts (TSEs) are designed
to showcase Brownfields tools and RCRA Cleanup Reforms and also to emphasize the importance of
addressing brownfields issues in RCRA cleanups.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has selected seven RCRA Brownfields Targeted Site
Efforts (TSE) projects. TSE projects provide
concentrated energy, attention, and resources to
selected sites with redevelopment potential to move
them forward in the cleanup process and to develop
approaches and options for cleanup and reuse. In the
first round of TSEs last year, EPA provided support
to seven projects that focused primarily on
community outreach and additional site assessment.
With this second round of TSEs, EPA has again
internally allocated resources to seven sites to
support short-term activities directed at overcoming
barriers to cleanup and redevelopment. These TSE
projects will provide experiences that may help other
sites facing similar challenges. The lessons learned
may also yield useful information for other RCRA
programs to consider.
The seven TSE projects selected by EPA are:
• 3-D Investments, Inc., Alda, Nebraska: 3-D
Investments, Incorporated is a 3.65-acre former
gasoline service station and lead recovery smelter
facility located south of Alda. The lead recovery
facility closed after one year of operation due to
suspected environmental contamination. EPA
Region 7 has been investigating the site using the
U.S. Geological Survey in Nebraska (USGS-NE),
as necessary, for technical assistance through an
interagency agreement. The facility's trustee has
conducted some removal work and will fund the
site cleanup. TSE support is proposed to be used
for additional site characterization, public
involvement efforts and other activities. This
support will help overcome a hurdle that has made
it difficult to clean up the site. The result of the
cleanup will be a site suitable to deed to Crane
Meadows Nature Center, Inc., a nonprofit
organization dedicated to natural resource edu-
cation and the preservation of Sandhill cranes.
3-D Investments, Inc. TSE Contact:
Andrea R. Stone, EPA Region 7, (913) 551-7662
Gaston Copper Recycling Corp., Gaston, South
Carolina: The Gaston Copper Recycling
Corporation facility is a 400-acre, former
secondary copper smelter located south of Gaston.
With a good infrastructure, transportation access,
and a nearby labor force, the facility is an
attractive site for redevelopment. A stakeholder
team used TSE funds last year to conduct two
successful public meetings and determined that
additional public involvement is crucial to
completing the cleanup and revitalization of the
site. Additional TSE support will increase public
awareness of cleanup plans and keep stakeholders
involved in decisionmaking, as recommended by
the Corrective Action Reforms Initiative.
Gaston Copper Recycling Corp. TSE Contact:
Alan Newman, EPA Region 4, (404) 562-8589
Inchelium Wood Treatment Plant, Nespelem,
Washington: The Inchelium Wood Treatment
Plant is an operating wood treatment facility on a
100-acre site at the edge of the large Colville
Indian Reservation in north central Washington.
About ten years ago, the tribe and a former site
owner cleaned up a large underground storage
tank spill. However, during the last 15 years of
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wood treatment operations, chromated copper
arsenate (CCA) has leaked into the site, raising
worker safety concerns and leaving the future of
the facility in doubt. The facility is faltering and
may not be able to finance equipment changes to
meet the proposed 2003 ban of CCA. The local
population wants the site to continue to provide
jobs. TSE contractor support is proposed to be
used to perform site assessment planning, ensure
proper use of waste handling procedures at the
facility, and conduct public outreach that will help
the local population explore alternative future
uses for the site.
Inchelium Wood Treatment Plant TSE Contact:
Jack Boiler, EPA Region 10, (360) 753-9428
• FMC Site, Pocatello, Idaho: The FMC
Corporation's (FMC) Pocatello Elemental
Phosphorous facility, which is mainly located
within the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes' Fort Hall
Reservation in southeastern Idaho, produced
elemental phosphorus between 1949 and 2001.
The facility has been subject to RCRA's Subtitle
C permitting program since 1990 and ceased
operations in December 2001. FMC is in the
process of dismantling the plant. The eastern
portion of the property has significant
redevelopment potential because of its close
proximity to the City of Pocatello, a regional
airport, interstate highways, and railroad lines,
and access to production well water, low-cost
electrical power, and high-capacity natural gas
lines. However, a significant percentage of the
surface area is a slag disposal site where trace
radioactivity and other chemicals may be present.
The Tribes propose to use EPA contractor
assistance to review previous slag studies and
other relevant site investigations and risk
assessments; evaluate the regulatory status of the
property; identify issues related to parceling, title
transfer, and future liability; and analyze options
for industrial redevelopment.
FMC Site TSE Contact:
Linda Meyer, EPA Region 10, (206) 553-6636
• Tricil Plant, Muskegon Heights, Michigan: The
Tricil Plant is a 20-acre abandoned waste water
treatment facility in the City of Muskegon
Heights, a low-income, predominantly African-
American community. The site is an excellent
candidate for redevelopment as a much needed
middle-income housing project that will entice
local young people to stay in the area. TSE
contractor support is proposed to be used to
conduct sampling at the site. A site assessment
conducted in the 1990s indicated that contamina-
tion may not be an insurmountable barrier to
redevelopment, but more sampling is needed to
clear the site for reuse.
Tricil Plant TSE Contacts:
Ann Wentz, EPA Region 5, (312) 886-8097
Velsicol Chemical Corp., Memphis, Tennessee:
The Velsicol Chemical Corporation was
responsible for discharging industrial process
wastewaters containing pesticides into Cypress
Creek in north Memphis from about 1946-1963.
RCRA corrective action is underway at the plant,
and Velsicol is also investigating several miles of
Cypress Creek downstream of the plant. However,
Velsicol, which is struggling to survive, is unable
to readily investigate contamination along a 3/4-
mile "posted and open green way" section of
Cypress Creek known as the Upper Surge Basin,
Sub-Area 4. TSE contractor support is proposed
to be used to conduct a thorough human health
and ecological investigation along the banks of
Sub-Area 4 and to characterize contaminant hot
spots. Reuse of this area, which is bordered by
woods and open fields, will enhance the city's
plans to establish recreational areas for inner city
residents and help the Velsicol site meet
Government Performance and Results Act goals.
(These goals include the control of human
exposure to contamination and the control of the
migration of contaminated groundwater).
Velsicol Chemical Corp. TSE Contact:
Leo Romanowski, Jr., EPA Region 4, (404) 562-
8485
Vision Metals, Inc., Rosenburg, Texas: Vision
Metals, Incorporated in Rosenburg, is a metal
tubing manufacturer that ceased all production at
the 197-acre facility and filed for bankruptcy in
November 2000. The company is currently
operating a groundwater treatment system in
compliance with a post-closure permit, but it may
have to cease operating the treatment system if a
buyer cannot be found. A shutdown of the
recovery wells will affect the ability of the facility
to meet Government Performance and Results Act
RCRA Brownfields Prevention Initiative
November 2002
Targeted Site Efforts
EPA-500-F-02-140
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goals and decrease the likelihood of finding a
buyer that will assume full environmental
responsibility for the site. The facility would
benefit most from modifications to the wastewater
treatment plant which would enhance long term
treatment operations. Such improvements would
promote community trust and ensure long term
protection of human health and the environment.
TSE contractor support is proposed to be used for
options development and to conduct public
outreach meetings about the project.
Vision Metals, Inc. TSE Contact:
Stephen Gilrein, EPA Region 6, (214) 665-8179
Note: The discussion of each TSE in this fact sheet is
based on preliminary information on site facts and TSE
project goals. It should be noted that EPA will determine
the final goals and activities of each project as the
workplan for each project is developed.
ADDITIONAL INITIATIVE COMPONENTS
In addition to the Targeted Site Efforts, the RCRA
Brownfields Prevention Initiative includes training
and outreach, RCRA Brownfields pilots, and
clarification and streamlining of the cleanup and
reuse process.
The Training and Outreach component of the
Initiative focuses on identifying and addressing
barriers to cleanup and redevelopment, sharing
experiences and lessons learned, and promoting
the use of regulatory tools and approaches to address
cleanup and redevelopment challenges. Training
and Outreach efforts seek to engage EPA and state
project managers and legal staff, municipalities,
business, industry, and other external stakeholder
groups.
In the past, the Initiative has also supported nine,
unfunded RCRA Brownfields Prevention pilot
projects to showcase the flexibility in RCRA and, in
particular, some of the concepts embodied in the
RCRA Cleanup Reforms. The goal of this effort has
been to showcase successes and innovations that can
help communities achieve cleanup and
redevelopment at RCRA sites. Although these pilots
emphasize flexibility, EPA and the states continue to
ensure protection of human health and the
environment. No additional pilots are planned.
RCRA Corrective Action Reforms are a
comprehensive effort to address the key
impediments to cleanup, maximize program
flexibility, and spur progress toward an ambitious set
of national cleanup goals. The RCRA Brownfields
Prevention Initiative enhances the implementation of
the RCRA Reforms by highlighting the role of reuse
in the cleanup process and by streamlining cleanup
approaches.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the RCRA Brownfields
Prevention Initiative, please visit the RCRA
Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/
swerosps/rcrabf/. For more information on EPA's
Corrective Action Reforms, please visit the RCRA
corrective action Web site at
http://www.epa.gov/correctiveaction. For more
information about EPA's Brownfields program,
please visit the EPA Brownfields program Web site
at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields.
RCRA Brownfields Prevention Initiative
November 2002
Targeted Site Efforts
EPA-500-F-02-140
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