| Office of Brownfields Cleanup
and Redevelopment (5105T) & Office of Solid Waste (5303W) |
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
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| 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 longer term, 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.
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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 education 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 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 Boller, 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 contamination 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 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
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Targeted Site Efforts
EPA-500-F-02-140 |
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