The following press release was published by the US EPA on Sept. 14. It is reproduced in full below.
CHICAGO (Sept. 14, 2021) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Barrels Inc. site at 1404 North Larch St. in Lansing, Michigan, has been deleted from Superfund’s National Priorities List, or NPL. EPA has determined that the site cleanup is complete and no further action is required. Operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities will continue at the site as needed.
“Removing the Barrels Inc. Superfund site from the National Priorities List is a big win for all those who live and work in Lansing,” said acting EPA Region 5 Administrator Cheryl Newton. “It also clearly demonstrates EPA’s commitment to cleaning up contaminated sites to protect public health and the environment.”
“Today’s announcement represents a victory in our ongoing campaign to clean up these abandoned sites and protect the public and our state’s precious resources,” said Michigan Environment, Great Lakes and Energy director Liesl Clark. “EGLE remains committed seeing all 65 Michigan sites on the National List of Priorities cleaned up to state and federal standards and we look forward to continued cooperation with the EPA to remove more of these sites from the NPL.”
EPA added the former drum reclamation facility to the NPL in 1989 and later designated the state of Michigan as the lead for enforcement at the site. Spills at the site had contaminated surface soil with metals, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls and cyanide. The cleanup involved removing and disposing of approximately 1,000 drums, nine underground storage tanks and more than 13,000 tons of contaminated soil.
Long-term stewardship will be ongoing to maintain institutional controls, site security and ensure future land use is consistent with the remediation. Superfund law requires reviews every five years after cleanups to ensure the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. A proposed or final deletion does not prevent future actions under the Superfund law.
The NPL tracks the nation’s most contaminated sites that threaten human health or the environment. Sites on the list are eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program and once all the remedies are successfully implemented, EPA removes sites or parts of sites from the list.
EPA proposed the site for deletion on May 14, 2021 and did not receive any comments on this proposal during the 30-day public comment period.
For more information: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/barrels.
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Source: US EPA
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