Summary

First Five-Year Review Completed

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 has completed the First Five-Year Review (FYR) for the Big River Mine Tailings/St. Joe Minerals Corp. National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund Site (site), located in St. Francois County, Missouri.

Statutory FYRs are required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund Law, when hazardous substances remain on-site above levels that permit unrestricted use and unlimited exposure. FYRs provide an opportunity to evaluate the site remedy to determine whether it remains protective of human health and the environment. The remedy evaluated under this FYR focuses on Operable Unit (OU-1) – Residential Yards, the only OU currently with a remedy for this site.

The contaminant of concern at the site is lead, which was extracted by mining activities beginning in the late 1700s. This FYR included an examination of relevant site documents and a site inspection. The assessment of this FYR found that the remedy is being constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Record of Decision and is functioning as designed. The results of this review indicate that the remedy at OU1 is expected to be protective of human health and the environment upon completion. In the interim, remedial activities at residential properties and removal activities at the source areas completed to date have adequately addressed all exposure pathways that could result in unacceptable risk at the remediated residential properties. The First FYR was signed March 2, 2020. The Second FYR will begin in March 2024.

EPA has assessed the ability of the public to access this FYR through an internet-based repository and has determined that the local community has this ability. As a result, the First Five-Year Review Report, Administrative Records, and additional information area available on EPA’s website (see Site Documents & Data).

This FYR report is also available at:

EPA Region 7 Records Center
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219

EPA encourages community members to ask questions and report any concerns about this site. Questions or requests for site information and/or the FYR process can be submitted to: