Brownfields Success Stories

EPA, EDA Assist Redevelopment Efforts in Smithville, Texas

Before ceasing operations in 1990, the Marhil Manufacturing plant in Smithville, Texas produced boat porthole covers and watertight doors for ships. In 1991, the owners of the contaminated three-acre Marhil property filed for bankruptcy and abandoned the site. Because of the site's prime location, the City marshaled its resources toward cleaning up and redeveloping the property. In February 1996, at the City's request, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began assessments to determine the extent and nature of the property's contamination. Based on samples collected from waste drums, soils and foundry sand, EPA concluded that the site's contamination warranted additional resources from the Agency's Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) program. The TBA program was designed to minimize the uncertainties surrounding the actual or perceived contamination on sites such as Marhil Manufacturing. In addition to its site assessment work, EPA assisted Smithville in acquiring aid from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce and its technical assistance program. The City began cleanup in the summer of 1996 and completed the process in June 1997. On June 4, 1997, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission issued a Certificate of Completion for the successful cleanup. In March 1997, the City acquired the property through a tax foreclosure sale. City officials plan to keep the property in a structured lease for five-and-a-half years with the option to buy. A furniture panel manufacturer is currently operating on the entire property, and has brought at least seven new jobs to the City. EPA Region 6--encompassing Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas--has seven properties currently targeted under the Targeted Brownfields Assessment program, and 14 others have had assessments completed. For more information on EPA's TBA program, contact Stan Hitt, EPA Region 6 Coordinator, at (214) 665-6736.