EPA announces cleanup will begin at the East Troy Contaminated Aquifer Superfund site in Ohio as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
CHICAGO (February 27, 2024) — Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a third and final wave of more than $1 billion for cleanup projects at more than 100 Superfund sites across the country as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This funding is made possible by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will launch new cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites, including the East Troy Contaminated Aquifer Superfund site in Troy, Ohio.
“After three rounds of investments, EPA is delivering on President Biden’s full promise to invest in cleaning up America’s most contaminated Superfund sites,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “This final round of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has made it possible for EPA to initiate clean ups at every single Superfund site where construction work is ready to begin. This is an incredible milestone in our efforts to clean up and protect communities, deliver local jobs, enhance economic activity, and improve people’s lives for years to come.”
“Getting legacy contamination out of communities is at the core of EPA’s mission,” said Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “Thanks to the President’s Investing in America agenda, EPA has the resources to clean up these sites much faster than we otherwise could.”
“Ohio appreciates U.S. EPA’s investment at the East Troy Contaminated Aquifer site,” said Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel. “This money will go towards cleanup and protecting drinking water for families that live in the area.”
Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding announced today, cleanup will begin at the East Troy Contaminated Aquifer Superfund site. The funding will be used for the excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil at the East Water Street source area of the site. This will also prevent migration of contamination to potential drinking water sources. Volatile organic compounds contaminated groundwater, soil and indoor air in some homes and businesses. In 2007, EPA installed vapor abatement systems in 16 homes and an elementary school to address the indoor air health risk in the area.
In addition to the new cleanup announced, today’s investment supports continued cleanup work at the Little Scioto River Superfund site in Ohio.
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The Little Scioto River Superfund site is an 8.5-mile stretch located just west of Marion. BIL funding will be used to clean up 3.5-miles of the river. Nearly 5-miles have already been cleaned during two removal actions at site in June 2002 and May 2006, removing a combined total of over 48,000 cubic yards of creosote contaminated waste and sediment.
Today’s investment is the final wave of funding from the $3.5 billion allocated for Superfund cleanup work in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. So far, EPA has deployed more than $2 billion for cleanup activities at more than 150 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Thanks to President Biden’s commitment to addressing legacy pollution and improving public health, EPA has been able to provide as much funding for cleanup work in the past two years as it did in the previous five years while delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA is committed to continuing to carry out this work advancing environmental justice and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. More than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site. These investments are restoring the health and economic vitality of communities that have been exposed to pervasive legacy pollution. Thus far, nearly 80% of the funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has gone to sites in communities with potential environmental justice concerns. Out of the 25 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, more than 75% are in communities with potential environmental justice concerns based on data from EJSCREEN.
The historic investment made by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law strengthens every part of the Superfund program, making a dramatic difference in EPA’s ability to tackle threats to human health and the environment. In addition to funding cleanup construction work, the investment is enabling EPA to increase funding for and accelerate essential work needed to prepare sites for construction and to ensure communities are meaningfully involved in the cleanup process. In 2023, EPA continued to fund Superfund pre-construction activities such as remedial investigations, feasibility studies, remedial designs, and community involvement at double pre-Bipartisan Infrastructure Law levels.
In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERLCA), known as Superfund. The law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, EPA steps in to address risks to human health and the environment using funds appropriated by Congress, like the funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
To see a list of the 25 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-sites-new-construction-projects-receive-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding
To see highlights from the first two years of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding at Superfund sites, visit EPA’s Cleaning Up Superfund Sites: Highlights of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding website.
For more information about EPA’s Superfund program, visit EPA’s Superfund website.
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Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-cleanup-will-begin-east-troy-contaminated-aquifer-superfund-site-ohio
