Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Kansas Cleanup Projects

The Environmental Protection Agency announces new cleanup projects at 22 Superfund sites, as well as 100 other ongoing cleanups thanks to President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.

LENEKS, CAN. (February 10, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a second wave of funding of approximately $1 billion under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to kick-start new cleanup projects at 22 Superfund sites, including 57th Street and North Broadway Street. Caney residential yards and electroplating. Sites Inc. in Kansas — and accelerate more than 100 other ongoing cleanups across the country.

There are thousands of contaminated sites in the country due to hazardous waste being dumped, left in the open air or otherwise mismanaged, including in manufacturing plants, processing plants, landfills and mining operations. The Superfund cleanup is helping transform polluted property and create jobs in overburdened communities by repurposing these sites for a wide range of uses, including public parks, retail, office space, residences, warehouses and solar power generation. In addition, these sites can support natural areas, parks, and recreation areas, providing green space and safe outdoor play areas.

“Thanks to President Biden’s historic investment in America, we are moving faster than ever before to make progress in cleaning up contaminated sites — from manufacturing plants to landfills — in communities across the country,” said EPA administrator Michael S. Reagan. . “But our work is not done yet – we continue to build this momentum to ensure that communities living near many of the worst fugitive or abandoned pollution releases finally get the investment and protection they deserve.”

“This Bipartisan Infrastructure Act funding allows crews in our region to begin new construction at three Superfund sites in Kansas,” said Meg McCollister, EPA Region 7 administrator. “Cleaning up facilities across Region 7 helps us continue to protect the environment and the health of residents in the heart of our country.”

“We are thrilled to receive this funding so that we can begin—or accelerate—work to prepare these facilities in Kansas for construction,” said Bob Jurgens, director of the EPA’s Superfund and Region 7 Emergency Management Division. “Our teams are committed to EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment by cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater.”

Kansas sites receiving funding during this funding wave include:

The $1 billion investment announced today is the second round of funding from the $3.5 billion earmarked for Superfund cleanup work under the bipartisan Infrastructure Act. WITH first wave of funding announced in December 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency has directed more than $1 billion towards cleanup activities at more than 100 Superfund National Priority List sites across the country. With this historic funding, EPA launched 81 new cleanup projects in 2022, including projects at 44 sites that were previously on the waiting list. Starting four times as many construction projects as a year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency is actively moving more sites across the country closer to cleanup completion.

For example, in Evansville, Indiana, the EPA continued to reduce exposure to lead and arsenic in soil around the Jacobsville contaminated area by beginning the next phase of cleaning up contaminated residential soils.

In addition to funding construction cleanup work, these investments allow the EPA to increase funding and accelerate the major work needed to prepare sites for construction and ensure that communities are meaningfully involved in the cleanup process. In 2022, EPA more than doubled its spending on Superfund preparatory activities such as renovation studies, feasibility studies, renovation projects, and community engagement.

The Environmental Protection Agency is committed to doing this work in line with President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, advancing environmental justice and incorporating fairness considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. This will help ensure that historical and current pollution impacts on overburdened communities are fully addressed and addressed. Of the 22 sites that have received funding for new cleanup projects, 60% are in communities where environmental issues may arise. EDGECRINen an environmental equity mapping and verification tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for integrating environmental and demographic socioeconomic indicators..

Background

In 1980, Congress passed the Integrated Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, known as the Superfund. This act gave the EPA the authority and the means to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most polluted sites across the country. When a responsible party is not found or cannot afford a cleanup, the Environmental Protection Agency intervenes to eliminate the risks to human health and the environment using funds provided by Congress, such as funding provided by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

  • Read more about each Superfund site.
  • View Highlights from the first year of bipartisan infrastructure law funding on Superfund sites.
  • Read more about the EPA’s Superfund program.

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