State and Tribal Response S-EPA ¦ United States Program H ighIights ^rn,al p ec on EPA Funding Provided to States and Tribes to Address Contaminated Land in their Communities REGION I VERMONT -An underutilized brownfield in the Town of Rutland has been transformed into a family support center. Historic uses of the 2-acre property date back to 1925 and include a car and truck dealership, an automobile repair shop, a construction supply company, and a furniture storage warehouse. The property has been vacant since 2015. After several environmental assessments, in 2019, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct cleanup activities at the property, including the excavation and disposal of an underground storage tank and contaminated soil. In 2020, the property was redeveloped into the Rutland County Parent-Child Center (RCPCC), a private non-profit organization whose mission is to nurture children, youth, and families through supportive and positive educational experiences that promote their success in the community. REGION 2 VIRGIN ISLANDS - In the 1930s, the U.S. Navy built a hospital on a two-acre property in a remote town in Saint Thomas. In the early 1960s, the property was converted into the J. Antonia Jarvis Elementary School, which operated until the early 2000s. By that time, the three-story building had fallen into disrepair. In 2015, the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct assessment and cleanup activities, which included the removal of asbestos and mold. The building has since been refurbished and is now being used as government office space. REGION 3 MARYLAND - The Recreation Pier in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore opened in August 1914 and served as a landing point for thousands of new immigrants processed across the Patapsco River at the Locust Point immigration station. The ferry closed in 1937, and over the years the property served a number of roles such as a maritime radio station headquarters, parking garage, and the fictional police headquarters for the television series Homicide: Life on the Street until 1999. After standing vacant for more than 15 years, in 2015, the Maryland Department of the Environment used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to oversee assessment activities at the property The assessment revealed that no cleanup was required. In 2018, the property was transformed into the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore, a 128-room luxury boutique hotel that includes a restaurant, spa and fitness center, and meeting and event facilities. Sagamore Pendry hotel in Baltimore. REGION 4 KENTUCKY - In 1937, after a devastating flood, a section of Northern Louisville was turned into a city dump for building refuse from flood-damaged homes. The Ohio Street Dump became an open dump site for the city and operated until 1973. An eight- year, multi-step closing plan was initiated, meeting public health requirements and stringent EPA rules for filling and stabilizing the property. The closure included a dirt fill cap approximately 25 feet in depth, covered with grass planting. The property remained vacant until 2018, when the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to provide oversight of assessment and cleanup activities on the property. In 2019, the Waterfront Botanical Gardens opened at the former brownfield site, including the Graeser Family Education Center and Mary Lee Duthie Gardens, and in October 2020, construction began on the Ellen T. Leslie Botanical Classrooms Greenhouse and Workshop. CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding October/November/December 2020 ------- The Graeser Family tducation Center at the Louisville the Waterfront Botanical Gardens. REGION 5 INDIANA - In 1906, the Medora Shale Brick Company built a plant in the Town of Seymour in Jackson County. The surrounding hills yielded clay for briekmaking, while the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line provided transportation for the finished products. In its heyday, the plant employed a workforce of 50 and produced 54,000 bricks per day. The Medora plant continued to manufacture bricks by hand using its original kilns until 1992. After production halted, the unused facility fell into decline. In 2018, the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct an environmental assessment at the property and oversee the cleanup of metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated soil. A group of local volunteers organized to preserve the historic property, recruiting landscape architecture students from Ball State University to develop a series of concept plans reinventing the property as a park and interpretive center. The volunteer group is assessing the plant's historic elements—including the signature "bee hive" kilns and smokestacks—and fine-tuning final concept plans for the property's restoration. REGION 6 OKLAHOMA - Oklahoma has turned over 40 acres of a former industrial area in the heart of the city into an urban park. The project was funded by a unique sales tax-funded initiative called Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) that was first enacted in 1993 to fund urban revitalization and improvement. From 2015- 2017, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct oversight of the assessment and cleanup of numerous properties in the area. These efforts included the excavation and removal of contaminated soil and clay caps that had been installed on many sites. A protective barrier lining was installed to prevent contaminants from migrating to the area's lake and ponds. After cleanup, the area was transformed into Scissortail Park, named after the state bird of Oklahoma. This new, 70-acre urban oasis extends from the core of downtown Oklahoma City to the shore of the Oklahoma River. The 40-acre Upper Park opened in 2019, with the 30-acre Lower Park scheduled to open in 2021. The park features a variety of engaging experiences for visitors including ornamental gardens and woodlands, a 3.7-acre lake, a playground and water fountains, seasonal roller rink, dog park, picnic grove, restaurant, and performance stage with a lawn area for spectators. Scissortail Park in Oklahoma City. CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding October/November/December 2020 ------- REGION 7 KANSAS - A property in the center of Overland Park served as the town's Post Office from 1960 to 2015, When the post office moved to a new location, a non-profit art organization became interested in the property. The Kansas Department of Health used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct an environmental assessment in 2016, and then in 2018, to conduct an asbestos abatement that included the removal of approximately 7,500 square feet of mastic adhesive flooring. In 2019, the non-profit InterUrban ArtHouse, Inc. redeveloped the property. The former post office building is now an event center, music/art school, and art studio, surrounded by greenspace. The redevelopment allows InterUrban ArtHouse to enrich the cultural and economic vibrancy of the community by creating a place where artists and creative industries can work and prosper in an affordable, sustainable and inclusive environment. REGION 8 NORTH DAKOTA-A train depot built in the early 1900s served the Town of Lidgerwood for many years. In the 1970s the property was converted to the Lidgerwood Civic Center before becoming a senior center in the 1990s. A new senior center was built in 2010 and the vacant building deteriorated significantly. In 2018, the North Dakota Department of Health used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct an environmental assessment, and later a cleanup to remove asbestos and lead-based paint. After cleanup activities were completed, the Lidgerwood Rural Fire Protection District took ownership of the property. They conducted a controlled burn/demolition of the building as a training exercise and continue to use the property as a training center and for Lidgerwood Rural Fire Protection District events. REGION 9 ELK VALLEY RANCHERIA-An abandoned residential property owned by the Elk Valley Rancheria has been vacant for many years. Originally built in the 1970s as the Elk Valley Tribal Office Building and Cultural Center, the property is adjacent to the Elk Valley Rancheria Casino and about 2 miles from the Howland Hill Road Scenic Drive—an unpaved stretch that offers motorists an intimate encounter with the towering old-growth redwoods in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. After the cultural center changed locations in the 1990s, the property became a single- family residence until around 2010. The Elk Valley Rancheria used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to assess and clean up the property, removing asbestos and mold from the building. The property is now ready for reuse and the tribe is developing reuse options. Howland Hill Road Scenic Drive near Elk Valley Rancheria. REGION 10 IDAHO - A29-acre property outside the Town of Melba, originally used as farmland, became a cinder quarry in 1940. The Valley Cinder Company operated on the site for over 70 years, providing cinder to the region. Cinders are used on roads to provide additional traction in winter conditions. In 2019, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEO) used Section 128(a) Response Program funding to conduct environmental assessment activities on the now-idle property. That same year, the DEQ also used Section 128(a) funding to remove two above-ground storage tanks and surrounding soil. The property is now ready for reuse and was recently sold to a company that builds tactical sports parks, including outdoor paintball and laser-tag facilities. Redevelopment of the property by its new owner is anticipated to begin in the coming year. &EPA united states CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Funding October/November/December 2020 EPA S60-F-2I-025 Environmental Protection Agency ------- |