News Releases from Region 07

EPA Announces 2018 Annual Superfund Accomplishments, Including Successes in Region 7

Contact Information: Ben Washburn (washburn.ben@epa.gov) 913-551-7364

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., March 4, 2019) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing Superfund’s annual report covering major accomplishments and environmental progress during fiscal year (FY) 2018. The Superfund program is a top priority for EPA under President Trump, and the Agency is making great strides in accelerating sites through remediation and back to productive use. As detailed in the report, communities across the country are benefitting from these efforts.

“We are proud to report that in fiscal year 2018, EPA deleted all or part of 22 sites from the National Priorities List, the largest number of deletions in one year since 2005,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “By renewing and elevating our focus on Superfund under President Trump, we are accelerating cleanups, returning sites to productive reuse, and revitalizing communities across the country.”

“The Region 7 staff, along with the community members and partners who work with us, have accomplished much in FY 2018,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Gulliford. “My top regional priority is the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site in Bridgeton, Missouri, and the team now has a final cleanup decision. While this fiscal year was successful, we never forget that a lot of work remains. In addition to West Lake, we are focused on continued lead cleanups in residential yards and other properties at Superfund sites in the region to reduce childhood lead exposure.”

Other highlights of EPA Region 7’s 2018 accomplishments include:

The region partnered with the Madison County, Missouri, Health Department using funds from the Superfund Job Training Initiative and provided training and employment opportunities for 24 participants from the local community.

Region 7 also proposed adding the Sporlan Valve Plant #1 Site in Washington, Missouri, to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL guides EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation and/or cleanup.

While completing a Superfund cleanup is the most important milestone for any community, the Agency is also focused on the administrative work required to delete sites from the NPL once the cleanup is finished. In FY 2018, Region 7 completed the partial deletion of more than 100 private properties from the Omaha Lead Superfund Site.

Highlights of EPA’s 2018 national accomplishments include:

Improving human health for people living near our sites by controlling potential or actual human exposure risk at 32 additional Superfund NPL sites and controlling the migration of contaminated groundwater at 29 sites.

Deleting 18 full and four partial sites from the NPL – the largest number of deletions in one year since 2005 – signaling to the surrounding communities that EPA has completed the job of transforming these once highly contaminated areas.

Returning sites to communities for redevelopment by identifying 51 additional sites as having all long-term protections in place and meeting our “sitewide ready for anticipated use” designation, the highest annual result since 2013.

Completing or providing oversight of 242 Superfund removal actions at sites where contamination posed an imminent and substantial threat to human health and the environment.

Quickly and effectively responding to large-scale emergencies brought on by hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters in California, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and elsewhere.

Moving many sites closer to completion by making decisions that have been delayed, including West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Missouri; USS Lead in East Chicago, Indiana; and San Jacinto Waste Pits in Channelview, Texas.

In addition, in July 2018, on the one-year anniversary of the agency’s Superfund Task Force Recommendations, EPA issued a report covering Task Force accomplishments to date and laying out its plan for completing the remaining recommendations in 2019.

Read the full report on EPA's website.

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