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EPA Presents 2020 National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards to Federal and Missouri Agencies for Weldon Spring Superfund Site

10/28/2020

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Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Oct. 28, 2020) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented 2020 national Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), and Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) for the innovative reuse of the Weldon Spring Superfund Site in St. Charles, Missouri. DOE is the lead federal agency responsible for the cleanup of the site, while EPA and the state of Missouri provide regulatory oversight.

“For the past three years, we have recognized the important work our federal and state agency partners have completed to clean up and reuse federal facility Superfund sites around the country,” said EPA Assistant Administrator Peter Wright. “The Weldon Spring Site epitomizes the mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management to fulfill its post-closure responsibilities and ensure the protection of human health and the environment.”

“The most important outcome at the Weldon Spring Site was cleaning up contamination to protect the surrounding community from harmful exposure,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Gulliford. “But also important was developing the site into a community asset where local residents can learn about the site’s unique history and how they are being protected from its historical contamination. I am proud to present these awards to DOE, MDNR and MDC for their efforts at the site.”

The Weldon Spring Site, comprised of a former chemical plant and quarry, has a complex history. It played a pivotal role in our nation’s history and success in World War II and the Cold War. The 228-acre site is located about 25 miles west of St. Louis, and has been revitalized for beneficial reuse as a community educational center and recreational area. The Weldon Spring Interpretive Center Exitfeatures exhibits designed to fulfill DOE’s post-closure responsibilities. The center informs and educates the public about long-term stewardship and the site’s historical legacy. An important educational focus is on risk communication, showing how cleanup activities made the site safe for public use. Other redevelopment highlights include community use facilities and a natural prairie habitat that promotes wildlife conservation.

EPA has ongoing cleanup and property transfer responsibilities at 174 federal facility National Priorities List sites across the country, which are some of the largest and most complex sites within the Superfund program. The Trump administration has made the Superfund program a top priority to advance the Agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. EPA’s Superfund Task Force is working to promote redevelopment and reuse of sites by encouraging investment in reuse outcomes. The federal facility sites receiving reuse awards serve as examples of the types of site investment that can occur at sites once owned by federal agencies.

EPA established the awards to recognize the teams who have supported the reuse and restoration of federal facility sites through outstanding efforts to ensure that sites are remediated to promote continued property use or support a site reuse, as well as provide educational opportunities about how the awardees’ sites were remediated and reused to serve as examples to other site remediators.

The awards are divided into four categories: National Priorities List (NPL) Sites, Non-NPL Cleanup, NPL Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and Non-NPL BRAC.