The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today said the winners of the sixth annual National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards were in Missouri and New Jersey. The awards emphasize 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.
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 2023 Site Reuse Award Winners
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 in 1980, under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. Since 1997, the US Army Corps of Engineers continued site cleanup activities under the same remediation program, and surface soil was returned 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 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 was acquired and developed by the US Government in 1942 as part of the WWII effort. The ~3 million-square-feet underroof site was used to build aircraft engines. This resulted in significant contamination with chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater. The 226-acre site was transferred to a 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.
EPA – Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today said the winners of the sixth annual National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards were in Missouri and New Jersey. The awards emphasize 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.
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 2023 Site Reuse Award Winners
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 in 1980, under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. Since 1997, the US Army Corps of Engineers continued site cleanup activities under the same remediation program, and surface soil was returned 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 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 was acquired and developed by the US Government in 1942 as part of the WWII effort. The ~3 million-square-feet underroof site was used to build aircraft engines. This resulted in significant contamination with chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater. The 226-acre site was transferred to a 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.