&EPA
    United States
    Environmental Protection
    Agency
                         United States
                         Environmental Protection Agency
                                                  Office of Enforcement and
                                                  Compliance Assurance
July 2012
EPA-330-S-12001
                         FROM MIDVALE SLAG TO BINGHAM
                         JUNCTION: A SUPERFUND SUCCESS STORY
Office of Site Remediation Enforcement
Successful  projects  to  cleanup  and reuse contaminated sites often  require innovative  and
dynamic technical solutions in conjunction with creative uses of enforcement mechanisms. This
case study  explores how an EPA Region 8 project team adjusted their usual emphasis  on
enforcement and cleanup to include consideration of future redevelopment at the Midvale Slag
Superfund site in Midvale City, Utah. The team developed innovative enforcement mechanisms,
in partnership with Midvale City, the site's owner, and other stakeholders, to foster cleanup and
reuse of the site.

These collaborative efforts included the development of  a consent decree which provided the
site's owner with special account  money to clean up  the site, and the implementation of
Institutional Control Process Plans,  which clarified long-term stewardship  roles  and helped
ensure future  site  protectiveness.  These enforcement  mechanisms  were  instrumental  in
transforming a site with mountains of slag into Bingham  Junction, an emerging redevelopment
project that has transformed  Midvale City.  Bingham Junction is now an  environmentally
protective and thriving retail, commercial, and transportation center with new residential units
and  recreational  space.  For  more detailed information on the cleanup  and  mixed-use
revitalization at Midvale Slag, see Region 8's case study, linked at the end of this document.

MIDVALE SLAG: A POTENTIAL FOR REDEVELOPMENT
                                      The  Midvale Slag site is located in Midvale City,
                                      Utah, adjacent  to the City's  downtown and just
                                      twelve miles south of Salt Lake City. The 446-acre
                                      site sits directly north  of another Superfund site, the
                                      Sharon Steel site.  The Midvale Slag site operated as
                                      a smelting facility from 1871  through  1958, during
                                      which time five smelters  on the property processed
                                      lead  and copper ore. Smelting operations and on-site
                                      disposal of untreated hazardous substances resulted
                                      in the contamination of soil and groundwater. As a
                                      result of this contamination, EPA listed the site  on
                                      the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1991.  The site
                                      includes two  operable units  (OUs)  representing
discrete areas of cleanup. The first operating unit is partially located in a residential area. In the
1990s, Midvale City experienced rapid population growth and economic expansion. The Midvale
Slag site was one of the only significant pieces  of undeveloped land in  the community. The
The Midvale Slag site is adjacent to the Jordan River
  and directly west of downtown Midvale City.

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               From Midvale Slag to Bingham Junction: A Superfund Success Story
                                                                               2012
                                                        Smelter facilities processed ore on the
                                                              site for over 80 years.
potential  redevelopment  of the  site presented  an
opportunity for Midvale City,  local  citizens,  and
Littleson,  Inc., the site's owner, to clean up the site
and return it to productive use.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MIDVALE
CITY AND LITTLESON, INC.

Tensions   between  EPA   Region   8,  the   Utah
Department of Environmental  Quality (DEQ),  and
Midvale City regarding the cleanup at  the  nearby
Sharon  Steel Superfund site posed  an obstacle to
redevelopment  at  the  Midvale  Slag site's  second
operable unit. Midvale City and Littleson were concerned that EPA would take the same cleanup
approach at the Midvale Slag site as was taken at the Sharon Steel site. The Utah DEQ and EPA
addressed the Sharon Steel  site cleanup by placing  an impermeable cap over hazardous tailings,
which limited the  site's reuse potential.  The site was  deleted from  the NPL in 2004, but no
redevelopment has taken place. "There was a lot of resentment and anger over the fact that the
Sharon  Steel site had been  capped, and at that point, there wasn't any vision for how [the site]
could be reused,"  said EPA Project Manager Fran Costanzi. Cleanup activities at the Sharon
Steel  site took place between  1989 and 1999, before reuse and redevelopment became an
important part of the Agency's remedial action objectives for a  site. Also,  the community's
priorities and redevelopment interests were not incorporated into the Sharon Steel site's Records
of Decision (RODs), and Midvale City and Littleson were wary that EPA would similarly not
make these concerns a high priority during the Midvale Slag site cleanup process.

In light of the  issues raised by  the  Sharon  Steel site cleanup and the fact that frequent  staff
turnover  prevented  a  cohesive  direction  from  being  formed  on site reuse   goals  and
responsibilities, EPA tried a new approach. First, EPA focused on building stronger relationships
with Midvale City and Littleson. The situation improved
significantly when Fran Costanzi became the Remedial
Project  Manager (RPM) for the  site. "Fran was here at
least one to two days a week," said Midvale City Mayor
JoAnn Seghini, explaining that the "stability of a  very
good  project director  was  critical."   Moreover,  EPA
Region  8  attorneys Karen Kellen and Joni Teter joined
the project with  open  minds  and  a willingness  to
collaborate  with the City. "Karen can write as an
attorney and  write  so  that we  can understand  it,"
remarked Development Site Coordinator Ray Limb.
The parties also collaboratively searched for innovative
ways  to  address a  difficult  funding  issue.  EPA's
enforcement efforts at both the Midvale Slag and Sharon
Steel sites had led to a series of settlements with most of
       Anticipating Reuse:
    Birth of Bingham Junction

In late 1999, EPA awarded a Superfund
redevelopment pilot project to Midvale
City. The project required extensive
community engagement and a detailed
assessment  of community  priorities,
local economic  conditions, regional
market  trends, and an environmental
review of the site. The project allowed
Midvale City to identify future land use
and  create  the  Bingham  Junction
Master  Plan in  2000, which outlined
opportunities for many types of land
uses at the site.
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              From Midvale Slag to Bingham Junction: A Superfund Success Story
                     2012
the responsible parties. The money from these settlements funded special accounts, which could
only be used for cleanup at these  two sites.  Littleson had not settled with EPA and  was
potentially liable for the significant expenses associated with cleaning up the Midvale slag site.
The money in the special accounts had been reduced after the Sharon Steel cleanup, and could
not cover the estimated $30-40 million cleanup cost at Midvale Slag. Through the dedication and
hard work of EPA Region 8 and a willingness on the part of Littleson to take responsibility for
the cleanup, the  parties developed  a solution  that incorporated the Agency's enforcement
priorities and set the groundwork for future site reuse and revitalization.

REDEVELOPMENT THROUGH INNOVATIVE ENFORCEMENT: THE 2004 CONSENT
DECREE
EPA field investigations showed that the cleanup decision
could address much  of the on-site waste  with specific
redevelopment interests in mind, so Midvale City rezoned
the site to allow for a variety of future uses. The 2002 ROD
outlined the remedy for the site's second operable unit and
included   redevelopment  as  an  "additional"   remedial
objective. EPA  entered  into  critical  negotiations  with
Littleson and Midvale City  in 2003 to develop  a consent
decree for the second operable unit.
EPA was initially concerned with the draft consent decree
provision  which  would provide  Littleson with  special
account money containing settlement funds from other PRPs
to clean up the site. The consent decree, however, included several provisions mutually agreed
upon by EPA and Littleson, which alleviated the Agency's concerns. The requirements imposed
on the company included the following:

   •   Spending controls that placed an emphasis on site cleanup by ensuring that no settlement
       money could be used for development enhancements.
   •   Project milestones which provided EPA the  ability to recognize whether Littleson was
       meeting its cleanup obligations in a timely manner.
   •   Incremental reimbursement with settlement money from the site's special account for
       cleanup activity paid by the company.

Littleson  could,  at  its  own  expense,   implement  redevelopment-oriented  improvements
simultaneously with the remediation to minimize the cost of future work. The company greatly
appreciated this approach and recognized it  as a way to take responsibility for the cleanup while
moving redevelopment forward.

Under the terms of the consent decree, Littleson designed the remedy and cleaned up the  site's
smelter waste. By conducting the cleanup, Littleson was able to perform the required work at a
substantially lower cost than EPA could, and integrated the groundwork for redevelopment as
Midvale City rezoned the site with specific
redevelopment interests in mind, including
         commercial retail.
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               From Midvale Slag to Bingham Junction: A Superfund Success Story    I 2012
described under the Bingham Junction Master Plan. "Littleson could combine steps," explained
EPA  Region 8 attorney Karen Kellen. By designing a long-term  cleanup  with the site's
anticipated reuse in mind,  Littleson  was  able to lay the groundwork  for the  site's  future
expansion by:

    •   Coordinating installation of utility corridors to minimize disturbances to the site's soils
       and smelter wastes;
    •   Grading and capping smelter wastes in place as roadbed material;
    •   Reusing uncontaminated site materials as cover fill for the site's remedy; and
    •   Funding  ground compaction  enhancements to  reduce the financial burden of  future
       development.

EPA also waived its property lien rights on the site for unrecovered response costs and provided
a covenant not to  sue to all signatories to the consent decree, which included Littleson and
Midvale  City. A covenant not to sue is a provision promising that EPA will not bring any future
legal actions against parties to the agreement regarding the site and the specific matters named.
Moreover, the covenant extended to future site owners, and provided that parties would not be
liable under the Superfund law for future activities as long as they exercised due care  (such as
complying with the  site's institutional controls).

The consent decree also included a section addressing future  owners of the  site who meet the
requirements of the  bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) liability protection under Superfund.
"The BFPP section in the consent decree made it easier for future site owners to comply with the
                                     BFPP requirements,"  said Karen  Kellen.  "Subsequent
                                     site owners need not request any assurances  because
   To work best, institutional controls need    ,,    ,     ,,          ,   ,  , c    r  u-i-^  " T»
 to be part of a remedy. InMidvale City, we    they know they are Protected from liability. By
   were fortunate enough to have a very
     engaged locality as our partner."

   - EPA Project Manager Fran Costanzi
including a section that addressed the concerns of future
owners,  the  consent  decree  facilitated  sale  and
redevelopment  by eliminating concerns of unknown
liability that often accompanies the perceived stigma of
Superfund sites.
LONG-TERM THINKING: CREATING EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONAL CONTROLS

The  cleanup plan for the site's second operable unit,  completed in 2002, emphasized the
importance of institutional controls at the Midvale Slag Superfund site.  Often known as land use
restrictions,  institutional  controls are  non-engineered instruments,  such as  administrative and
legal controls, that help to minimize the potential for exposure to contamination and/or protect
the integrity of a cleanup. Institutional controls are vital to ensuring the protectiveness of the
site's cleanup over the long term. Midvale City assumed responsibility for the implementation
and enforcement of the site's institutional controls, helping to ensure long-term stewardship and
protectiveness of the site. EPA worked closely  with the City to resolve institutional  control
issues at the site.
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              From Midvale Slag to Bingham Junction: A Superfund Success Story    I 2012
EPA and Midvale City collaborated to develop two Institutional Control Process Plans, which
include  local zoning, building, road and  excavation permits,  engineering design guidelines,
residential requirements, vapor mitigation controls for portions of the site, and controls on water
management and groundwater use.

To implement and oversee these institutional control plans and establish long-term stewardship
principles, Midvale City's Department of Community and Economic Development created a full-
time position to assist current and prospective  property  owners at the site by providing
informative materials, answering questions, and ensuring that all development activities  meet
city ordinances.  According to Mayor JoAnn Seghini, this  position is "absolutely necessary"
because "builders are cognizant of what they can and can't do. Builders have someone they can
go to." Midvale City's role in implementing the institutional  controls is critical to the long-term
redevelopment taking place at Bingham Junction. The city's willingness to step in early and take
responsibility for long-term  stewardship has made it very  easy to market the project.  New
developers now immediately know that institutional  controls are a necessary part of any building
permits, and this eliminates uncertainty in the development process.
                  CLARIFYING LONG-TERM STEWARDSHIP ROLES

   The Institutional Control Process Plans identified the following roles and responsibilities:

   MIDVALE CITY
      •   Updating and managing local land use tools and ordinances
      •   Reviewing site plans
      •   Conducting site development inspections
      •   Verifying private covenants and deed restrictions for residences

   EPAANDUDEQ
      •   Groundwater monitoring
      •   Oversight of some residential development

   LANDOWNERS
      •   Compliance with the Institutional Control Process Plans
      •   Disposing of any excavated contaminated site soils in appropriate facilities
      •   Ensuring that covenants and deed restrictions are conveyed and communicated
          during property transactions
To facilitate coordination, Midvale City, EPA, and Utah's DEQ hold weekly coordination calls
to discuss the progress of the Bingham Junction redevelopment and cleanup. Moreover, Midvale
City has authority to make on-the-spot decisions to accept alternative redevelopment designs that
comport with the remedy. This allows the city to be flexible as to redevelopment while still
incorporating effective institutional controls.
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               From Midvale Slag to Bingham Junction: A Superfund Success Story    I 2012
With continued productive coordination, the surface area of the Midvale Slag site is poised to be
deleted from the NPL. Construction of the final riverbank stabilization remedy along 7,000 feet
of the  adjacent  Jordan River and installation  of the post-cleanup  groundwater monitoring
network was completed in  2011. Groundwater and surface monitoring,  as  well  as five-year
reviews, will ensure that human health and the environment are protected for current and future
site users.

REVITALIZATION AT BINGHAM JUNCTION
           The Midvale Slag site during cleanup.            The Bingham Junction development after
                                                     cleanup includes residential units.
The Bingham Junction development at Midvale City  is  an example of  how collaborative
relationships result in new economic  opportunities and community-wide benefits. According to
Mayor JoAnn Seghini, the site's redevelopment has had a ripple effect on the community, since
                  BINGHAM JUNCTION TODAY: BENEFITS OF REUSE

    What was once a site with mountains  of slag is now an emerging redevelopment project that has
    transformed Midvale City. While only about 20 percent of the site is redeveloped, it has infused Midvale's
    economy with:

       •   Approximately 600 new jobs
       •   $1.5 million in annual property tax revenues
       •   A $ 131 million increase in the value of the site property

    Specifically, this mixed-use redevelopment has so far taken the form of:

       •   A 95,000-square-foot grocery store
       •   175,000 square feet of Gold and Silver LEED-certified office space (regional headquarters of
           FLSmidth, an international mineral and cement industry service provider)
       •   Over 1,000 completed residential units, including condominiums, apartments, and townhomes
       •   A Utah Transit Authority (UTA) light rail station, which serves the rapidly growing southwest
           region of the Salt Lake Valley
       •   Riverwalk Park, an 18-acre park with local and regional trails
       •   20 acres of open space with a wetland mitigation area
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               From Midvale Slag to Bingham Junction: A Superfund Success Story
                         2012
it has provided "an  advantage to  everyone in  the county, not just the people nearby." EPA
strongly supports this collaborative approach to redevelopment, and also places a high priority on
supporting the cleanup and return  of formerly contaminated sites to productive and beneficial
reuse.
EPA was able to satisfy its enforcement priorities while
coordinating  with  the  goals  and  interests  of  the
community, site owners, and other stakeholders so as not
to serve as an impediment to  the reuse  of the site.
Enforcement tools such as the 2004 consent decree with
Littleson and the Superfund program's remedial process
provided   detailed   site   information   to   inform
redevelopment. By learning lessons from the failure to
anticipate long-term stewardship and site redevelopment
at the Sharon Steel site, the Midvale Slag site was able
to succeed  and now serves  as a shining example of how
EPA's enforcement tools can play an important role in
revitalizing contaminated properties.

EPA WEBSITE RESOURCES
A Utah Transit Authority light rail station opened in
   2011 and is another example of mixed-use
         redevelopment at the site.
EPA has a number of website resources with more information on the Midvale Slag site and
redevelopment, and on its cleanup enforcement program, more generally. The EPA Region 8
case study on Midvale Slag, entitled "Cleanup and Mixed-Use Revitalization on the Wasatch
Front,"  can  be  found  at   http://epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pdf/midvale-2011-case-
study.pdf The Region 8 site progress profile, which includes site decision  documents, is  at
http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/ut/midvale. EPA's cleanup enforcement website, which
includes links to information on the landowner liability protections (including BFPP), is found at
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/cleanup/revitalization/index.html. Finally, the EPA  Superfund
Redevelopment Initiative  website is  at http://epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/.  This site
includes profiles of other site reuse success stories.
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