State and Tribal Response
Program Highlights
EPA Funding Provided to States and Tribes to Address Contaminated Land in their Communities
REGION I
VERMONT - The Town of Brattleboro's Waterfront/Union Station
project is under construction after years of planning. The project
consists of several parcels formerly used for industrial and
commercial purposes (i.e., manufactured gas plant, warehouse,
auto service, and railroad) that are being reused as a location
for multimodal transportation and a waterfront park along the
Connecticut River. Cleanup activities included the removal of three
underground storage tanks (LIST) and adversely impacted soils,
building demolition, and the installation of engineering controls (i.e.,
cap as direct contact barrier) coordinated with institutional controls
and an ongoing Operations and Management Plan. Funding for these
activities was provided by the Vermont Department of Environmental
Conservation (VTDEC) Section 128 (a) Response Program funds
($85,000), EPA Petroleum Brownfields funding, along with VTDEC
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) petroleum funding
and other transportation related funds. A Certificate of Completion—a
liability limitation closure letter—is expected to be issued in late 2012
pending approval.
Site plan for the Union Station Project,
NEW YORK - The Remington Lofts project in North Tonawanda
utilized a shuttered building built for industry over 100 years ago to
create a modern space that is attracting new residents and business
owners to the town. From 1925 until the 1970s, this property
was occupied by the Remington-Rand Corporation, an American
manufacturer of office equipment. From the mid-1970s to the
present, various commercial tenants, including a chemical company,
building contractors, warehousing and furniture and cabinetry makers
utilized the property. Several decaying buildings remained onsite, a
reminder of its industrial past. Known or suspected site contamination
included petroleum, chlorinated solvents, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
impacting soil and ground water. The site cleanup was performed
The Remington Lofts opened in 2011. Photo courtesy of the Kissling Interests, LLC.
by Remington Lofts on the Canal, LLC, with oversight from the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC),
a Section 128 (a) Response Program grantee. Site redevelopment
resulted in 81 loft apartments, a yoga center, salon and a new
restaurant/oyster bar called the Remington Tavern.
REGION 3
VIRGINIA- Columbia Gas of Virginia (CGV) continues to remediate
the former Portsmouth Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP), which is
located in Portsmouth on the Elizabeth River near the downtown
waterfront. After operation of the MGP ceased in 1956, the site was
sold and developed with residential apartments. Contamination
from the MGP was discovered in the early 1990s when the owner of
the apartments performed environmental investigations. CGV, as a
corporate successor to the former MGP, enrolled the property in the
state's Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) in 1997; this program
is funded by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's
Section 128(a) Response Program. The residents of the apartments
were relocated and the buildings demolished. Contaminated soils
were removed from the site and a clean soil cap was installed as
part of the restoration. Reuse of the site included construction of
Fort Nelson Park, which is owned by CGV and leased to the City
of Portsmouth for public use. CGV in cooperation with VRP staff
developed strict use restrictions for the park that prohibits ground
water use, residential use, and excavations below the clean soil cap.
Fort Nelson Park at the former Portsmouth Manufactured Gas Plant property.
CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Fundin
July/August 2012
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REGION 4
SOUTH CAROLINA-A historic yarn mill built in 1910 that was
later purchased by the Rock Hill Body Company to make truck and
school bus bodies from 1936 to 1987 is now the home of 21 family
rental apartments along with 18 single-family rental houses on the
approximately 8-acre property. This brownfields redevelopment
is part of a larger plan to revitalize the Hagins-Fewell old mill
neighborhood in the City of Rock Hill. The mill developer entered into
a Voluntary Cleanup Contract with South Carolina's Section 128(a)
Response Program funded Brownfields Program. Environmental
assessments revealed the presence of volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds and heavy metals within
the surface and subsurface soils. To address the contamination,
a total of 300 tons of excavated soil were removed from the site.
The project was completed in January 2011 with a Certificate of
Completion for the Brownfields Non-Responsible Party Voluntary
Cleanup Contract issued in February 2011. This project is a unique
blend of historic and new that provides affordable low-income
housing to a distressed part of Rock Hill.
REGION 5
INDIANA- The former Leesburg Elementary School located in
Leesburg, Indiana now has a new use as the world headquarters
for Maple Leaf Farms, a duck processing company. Prior
to redevelopment, the 9.95-acre site contained a two-story,
50,000-square foot building constructed in 1946 with two smaller
out-buildings used for classrooms, parking lots, a playground,
basketball court and two baseball fields. The school was vacated
after a new elementary school was constructed. Due to a number
of recognized environmental concerns, including ground water
containing chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) originating
from a facility up-gradient of the site, Maple Leaf Farms requested
a Comfort Letter in February 2011 from the Indiana Department of
Environmental Management (IDEM) Brownfields Program. IDEM is
a Section 128(a) Response Program grantee. Following additional
investigative activities, a Comfort Letter was issued in April 2011 to
address the prospective purchaser's liability issues, facilitate the
real estate sale, and ultimately foster the redevelopment of the site.
Since that time, the company has invested more than $4 million
to completely renovate the main building into an up-to-date world
headquarters with offices for more than 80 employees.
REGION 6
ABSENTEE-SHAWNEE TRIBE - The Absentee-Shawnee Tribe,
through its Section 128(a) - Response Program funding, developed
a brownfield property inventory. The tribe has successfully returned
many of the properties in the inventory back to productive use. For
example, the Lillard Brownfield Project, funded through the EPA
Brownfields Program Cleanup grant has been cleaned up and is
awaiting a Certificate of Completion from the Oklahoma Department
of Environmental Quality's Brownfield Program, a tribal partner.
Approximately 90 percent of site debris was recycled and 667 tons of
soil were removed from the site and recycled at local facilities. Reuse
of the property as commercial retail has recently been completed.
Another project, the tribe's former finance building, is now the new
home of the tribe's museum, gift shop and cultural resources offices
after mold and asbestos concerns were remediated.
REGION 7
MISSOURI -The Peabody Opera House re-opened in October 2011
after a $79 million renovation. This 68,180-square foot Art Deco
building was built in 1934 as a municipal opera house - a landmark
in St. Louis. The last concert was hosted in 1991 and the building
became a dark and depressing eyesore. While no Recognized
Environmental Concerns were identified in the Phase I Report,
asbestos-containing material ACM) and lead-based paint (LBP) were
found throughout the building. The site was enrolled in the Section
128(a) Response Program funded Missouri BrownfieldsA/oluntary
Cleanup Program for oversight of the remediation process.
During the redevelopment, ACM and LBP were either removed and
disposed of, or encapsulated - with the exception of some decorative
features containing LBP on the walls and ceilings of the building.
These decorative features were preserved in the unlikely situation
that the structure is ever used for residential purposes. The Peabody
Opera House now hosts many events—a mix of concerts, comedy,
touring Broadway shows, and family events—in the main 3,500-seat
theatre.
The Grand Lobby at the Peabody Opera House.
CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Fundin
July/August 2012
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REGION 8
SOUTH DAKOTA- The South Dakota Department of Environment
and Natural Resources used section 128(a) Response Program
funding to assist the City of Huron in assessing the buildings
and site of the former Huron University for redevelopment into a
community facility. In addition, 128(a) funds were used to assist
in the development of cleanup plans for the site. To allow for
redevelopment, six major structures and a series of tunnels had to be
demolished, and a number of underground fuel tanks also had to be
removed. Through fund raising efforts, private business contributions,
the New Markets Tax Credit program, and other local and federal
resources, the city assembled a financing package and began
construction of the $12.8 million community facility in fall 2011. When
this revitalization project is complete in May 2013, it will offer the
citizens of Huron use of a new water park, picnic shelters, playground
equipment, opportunities to take college and vocational classes, use
of the community meeting rooms, expanded youth programming, and
a picturesque walking trail that encompasses the site.
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REGION 9
CALIFORNIA-The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
successfully used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to
support the implementation and continual enhancement of the
EnviroStor data management system and public website. DTSC's
EnviroStor system manages data and documents for over 12,000
cleanup sites and hazardous waste facilities throughout California.
EnviroStor assists DTSC staff, the public, the Legislature, and
federal, state and local agencies by providing a brief history of
cleanup activities, contaminants of concern, and planned cleanup
activities. The EnviroStor website provides the public with an online
search and Geographic Information System (GIS) tool for viewing
maps of site locations and surrounding properties. The EnviroStor
system accommodates electronic submittal of information and
provides numerous reporting features to empower project managers
with better tracking and site cleanup oversight tools.
REGION 10
OREGON - The residents of Monroe will soon enjoy a brand new
library with approximately six times the space of the current facility.
It will have more seating and storage space, quiet study areas, a
children's learning space, and a larger collection of educational
materials and tools such as books, CDs, DVDs, and computers.
Before construction could begin, the city needed to determine that
the proposed site was uncontaminated and "construction ready."
The site was an old railroad spur next to a business that stored and
distributed agricultural chemicals. The South Benton Library project
organizers came to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
(DEO), a Section 128(a) Response Program grantee, for assistance.
DEO used its EPA Brownfields Program Assessment grant funding
to complete an environmental assessment in January 2011, which
found no environmental concerns at the new library site. Construction
began shortly after Benton County received an Oregon Community
Block Grant; the new library is scheduled to open in early 2013.
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Site plan for the Central Park in Huron.
CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding
July/August 2012
EPA-560-F-I2-I89
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