WASHINGTON (June 13, 2023) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the winners of the sixth annual National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards. These awards highlight the accomplishments of federal agencies, states, Tribes, local partners, and developers in restoring and reusing contaminated land at federal facilities. 

“EPA is honored to highlight the work and tremendous partnerships needed to address contaminated federal facilities and implement a locally driven reuse strategy to safeguard and revitalize communities and the environment,” said Barry Breen, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management.

The 2023 Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award winners are:

• Superfund National Priorities List Award: Middlesex Sampling Plant, Middlesex, New Jersey (Department of Energy – Office of Legacy Management). The U.S. Department of Energy began remediation at the U.S. government-owned Middlesex Sampling Plant, New Jersey, in 1980, under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. Since 1997, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued site cleanup activities under the same remediation program, and surface soils were remediated to an unrestricted-use level. In 2018, the Middlesex Borough, New Jersey proposed the acquisition of the site for use as a Department of Public Works/Office of Emergency Management facility and a public road. The public road in turn supports a $40 million Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-designed adjacent warehouse development and a larger community redevelopment zone. Both the DPW and warehouse projects will aid the growth plan for the borough and are consistent with the borough’s Lincoln Boulevard Redevelopment Plan. The warehouse development alone would provide increased tax revenue and more than 150 jobs to the community.
• Non-National Priorities List Award: Former Bannister Federal Complex, Kansas City, Missouri (Department of Energy - National Nuclear Security Administration). The Bannister Federal Complex, in Kansas City, Missouri, was acquired and developed by the U.S. Government in 1942 as part of the WWII effort. The nearly 3 million-square-feet underroof site was used to build aircraft engines.  The resulted in significant contamination, evidenced by the presence of chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater. The 226-acre site was transferred to the private developer in 2017. Extensive site demolition and remediation commenced immediately, and redevelopment as a warehouse and distribution industrial park housing was started in 2020. The site is currently home to 5 modern industrial and distribution buildings, with 2 additional buildings planned, with a final total of approximately 2.6 million square feet and bringing 1500 jobs to this economically challenged area of Kansas City.

Background

EPA has ongoing cleanup and property transfer responsibilities at nearly 2,400 federal facility sites including 175 federal facilities on the Superfund National Priorities List, which are some of the largest and most complex cleanup sites in the U.S. The Agency also promotes innovative, cost-effective cleanups at other federal facilities by working with federal agencies, Tribes, state and local governments, and community representatives to ensure that facilities meet environmental standards and undergo redevelopment for both public and private-sector reuse. To recognize outstanding collaborative outcomes at federal facility sites, EPA created the National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse award.

These awards are given to project teams including federal agency project managers; developers; reuse authorities; or state, Tribal and local partners who have demonstrated excellence in working cooperatively with EPA to ensure the reuse of a Federal Facility site complements the type of cleanup actions taken. Award winners have demonstrated excellence in:

1. Working cooperatively and forming partnerships.
2. Complementing redevelopment design with the selected remedy.
3. Innovating beneficial use outcomes.
4. Considering the impacts on and inputs from the local community.
5. Creating jobs, fostering economic development or recreational opportunities, or supporting mission support.

Learn more about the 2023 National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards.

Learn more about cleanups at federal facilities.