U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 - 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations
Contact Information: Emily Albano, 913-551-7860, albano.emily@epa.gov
LENEXA, KAN. (DEC. 17, 2021) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites, including the Valley Park TCE Site in Valley Park, Missouri, and the Vienna Wells Site in Vienna, Missouri. Until this historic investment, many of these were part of a backlog of hazardous waste sites awaiting funding.
“This work is just the beginning; with more than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans living within 3 miles of a Superfund site, EPA is working to serve people that have been left behind,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Approximately 60% of the sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects are in historically underserved communities. Communities living near many of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination will finally get the protections they deserve.”
“I’m glad to see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prioritize funding to address soil and groundwater contamination at the Vienna and Valley Park Superfund sites,” said U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. “Our underground infrastructure is just as important as the infrastructure we traditionally think of above ground. Ensuring communities have a safe and reliable water supply is one of the most important federal investments we can make for the economy and, most importantly, for the families living near Superfund sites. I was proud to support the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and look forward to seeing that legislation continue to have an impact in our state.”
“Thanks to the funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be able to expedite work on these Superfund sites and deliver environmental results for the communities of Vienna and Valley Park, Missouri,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and getting to work to accelerate cleanups at these sites and ensure that everyone lives in a healthy community, regardless of where it is or how big or small it may be.”
Valley Park TCE Superfund Site – Valley Park, Missouri
The Valley Park TCE Superfund Site is located in the eastern portion of the city of Valley Park, approximately 15 miles southwest of the city of St. Louis, in St. Louis County, Missouri. Wainwright Industries owned and operated a metal stamping and tool and die shop at the property, located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Benton Street and Third Street, from 1949 to 1979. Part of the manufacturing process included a solvent degreasing system that used the solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) from 1963 to 1970 and perchloroethylene (PCE) from 1970 to 1979. These operations resulted in PCE and TCE contamination in soil and groundwater.
Infrastructure funds will be used to implement a soil remedy at Operable Unit 02 Valley Technologies Soil, so that the soil will no longer be a source of TCE contamination impacting the groundwater aquifer at Valley Park.
Read more about the Valley Park TCE Superfund Site: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0701494
Vienna Wells Superfund Site – Vienna, Missouri
The Vienna Wells Superfund Site consists of three contaminated public drinking water wells and the source area, a former hat factory. The site property is a 7.9-acre parcel of land that begins at the southeast corner of the 10th Street and Chestnut Street intersection.
From 1952 to 1996, the site property was owned and operated by two companies, Langenberg Inc. and Top This Inc. Operations at the facility resulted in soil and groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds, primarily perchloroethylene (PCE).
Infrastructure funds will be used to implement a soil remedy at the site, so that soil will no longer be a source of PCE contamination impacting the drinking water supply at Vienna.
Read more about the Vienna Wells Superfund Site: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0705803
The $1 billion investment is the first wave of funding from the $3.5 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help cleanup polluted Superfund sites in communities. The backlog of previously unfunded sites that will now be receiving funding are in 24 states and territories and all 10 EPA regions, including some communities who have been waiting for cleanup for more than four years.
EPA is committed to carrying out this work in line with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative by advancing environmental justice and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. This will help ensure that historic and ongoing impacts of contamination on overburdened communities are fully considered and addressed.
Administrator Regan visited the Lower Darby Creek Area site in Pennsylvania, one of the many sites with ongoing work that will receive a boost from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. Along with new construction projects, infrastructure funds will be used to accelerate ongoing work and begin cleanup at additional Superfund sites in various stages of pre-construction and planning throughout the country.
These Superfund cleanup projects will make a visible and lasting difference in communities. In one Florida community, residents have been advocating for removal of creosote-contaminated soil in their neighborhood for years. At a New York site, lead-contaminated soil will be removed from people’s backyards. At a site in New Mexico, EPA will address the source area of a contaminated groundwater plume migrating towards a community.
The funds will supercharge the Superfund program to address the toll contaminated sites have on communities. EPA is finalizing cleanup plans and preparing funding mechanisms to get construction work started as soon as possible. More information about funding for backlogged sites and accelerated cleanup sites will be available in the coming weeks.
In 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as Superfund, was passed. The novel law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, funds appropriated by Congress are used. A tax on chemical and petroleum industries provided funds to the Superfund Trust fund for Superfund cleanups up until 1995. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reinstates the chemical excise taxes and invests an additional $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment that will create millions of jobs modernizing our infrastructure, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path to win the economic competition for the 21st century.
For more information and to see a list of the 49 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-sites-new-construction-projects-receive-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding
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Learn more about EPA Region 7: www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-7-midwest