RE: Cleanup Complete at Cedar Services Site

[lhourcle <lhourcle@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu>]

A rule of bureacracy is that when things get tough..redefine success.
Recall when success in superfund was changed to remediation in place rather 
than completed.



>===== Original Message From cpeo-brownfields@igc.org =====
>This is an interesting announcement in that EPA is claiming they have
>accomplished a redevelopment of a brownfield when all that has occurred is
>that EPA completed a routine soil removal action for $750,000.  If the
>announcement is correct, there was no redevelopment and certainly no end
>user.  EPA has merely left behind a vacant lot with a lot less soil.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: cpeo@cpeo.org [mailto:cpeo@cpeo.org]
>Sent: Thursday, September 09, 1999 5:59 PM
>To: cpeo-brownfields@igc.org
>Subject: EPA: Cleanup Complete at Cedar Services Site
>
>
>
>EPA: Cleanup Complete at Cedar Services Site
>
>BEMIDJI, Minn., Sept. 8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5
>said
>today that a $750,000 cleanup is now complete at the Cedar Services site,
>Bemidji, Minn.
>
>The 38-acre Brownfield site, about 1/4 mile east of the intersection of
>State Highway 197
>and County Road 404 (a.k.a Carr Lake Road), was a telephone- and
>powerline-pole
>treatment operation from 1971 to 1980. Brownfields are abandoned or
>underused
>industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is slowed by real
>or perceived
>environmental contamination.
>
>EPA's primary concern was to eliminate pentachlorophenol (PCP)
>contamination at the site.
>PCP is a probable cancer-causing agent in humans. Long-term exposure to the
>chemical
>may damage the liver, kidneys, blood, and nervous system.
>
>The project was completed in three phases: (1) preliminary removal of
>hazardous materials
>by EPA in fall 1997; (2) sampling and analysis by the Minnesota Department
>of Agriculture
>(MDA) and the Security State Bank of Bemidji in spring and summer 1998; and
>(3)
>additional hazardous materials removal by EPA beginning in June 1999.
>
>The 1999 cleanup included:
>
>-- Disposal of about 450 tons of PCP-contaminated surface soils, and steel
>and concrete debris, primarily from the east side of the site. This
>material was sent to a facility in Belleville, Mich.
>
>-- Incineration of about 250 tons of PCP-contaminated soils from the former
>boiler area, sent to a facility in Aragonite, Utah.
>
>-- Disposal of 12 drums of PCP liquids, sent today to a facility in Calvert
>City, Ky.
>
>-- Disposal of 21 cubic yards of asbestos boiler insulation, sent to a
>facility in Canyon, Minn.
>
>An empty warehouse and a few maintenance sheds remain at the site.
>
>The cleanup began at the request of the MDA, and was mostly paid for and
>managed by a
>Chicago-based Superfund emergency response team.
>
>``It's nice to see another Brownfield site cleaned up and moving toward
>redevelopment,''
>said EPA Regional Administrator Francis X. Lyons. ``People often associate
>Brownfields
>with urban areas, but there are many sites just like Cedar Services in
>smaller communities
>all across the midwest.''
>
>Said Bemidji Mayor Doug Peterson, ``We're pleased this work is wrapping up
>at one of
>the area's most visible Brownfield sites. From here, we look forward to
>supporting Security State Bank and MDA in their efforts to redevelop the
>property.''
>
>Next steps for the site include: a revised environmental assessment,
>continued ground water monitoring, and any additional work required by the
>MDA for site closure. EPA also hopes to enter into a Prospective Purchaser
>Agreement with the next owner of the site. The
>agreement -- a tool EPA often uses to encourage reuse of formerly polluted
>sites - provides the future owner with liability protection for past
>contamination known to be at the site. The MDA can also offer similar
>liability assurances to future owners.
>
>For more information about the site, call: Bill Mawe, Security State Bank,
>218-751-1510.
>
>SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Laurent R. Hourcle
Associate Professor of Environmental Law
Co-Director Environmental Law Program
Director, Institute for the Environment
George Washington University
2000 H. St, NW
Washington DC 20052
(202)994-4823, FAX (202) 994-9446