The following press release was published by the US EPA on Sept. 20. It is reproduced in full below.
GULFPORT, Miss. (Sept. 20, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a partial deletion of the Chemfax, Inc., Site from Superfund’s National Priorities List (NPL), benefitting the environment, the community of Gulfport, and the people of Mississippi.
Nationally, EPA’s announcement finalizes the deletion of 9 sites and part of 11 sites from Superfund’s National Priorities List. EPA also proposed the deletion of one site from the NPL. With this action, EPA has deleted all or part of 25 sites from the NPL in fiscal year 2021, signaling to communities where cleanup of the contamination is complete and allowing them to move forward in reusing and redeveloping the land.
The partial deletion at the Chemfax, Inc. site addresses 11 acres of soils and sediments. No further response actions are necessary for Site soils/sediments, other than operation and maintenance (O&M). The groundwater portion of the Site will remain on the NPL and is not being considered for deletion as part of this action. Groundwater at the Site will continue to be monitored until it meets EPA’s criteria for NPL deletion.
“This partial deletion represents a significant milestone that EPA and our partners are making to clean up contaminated property and return the land to productive use,” said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator John Blevins. "A successful cleanup improves human health and the environment while also supporting economic growth."
The 11-acre Chemfax, Inc., Site is located south of Interstate 10 in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi. Operations at the Site were conducted from 1955-98 and consisted of the production of synthetic hydrocarbon resins and waxes from petroleum products. These operations resulted in soil, sediments and groundwater contamination at the Site. Due to this contamination the Site was placed on the NPL in 2013.
The NPL addresses the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. EPA deletes sites or parts of sites from the NPL when no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment. Years, and sometimes decades, of complex investigation and cleanup work have gone into getting these sites to where they are today.
While EPA encourages site reuse throughout the cleanup process, deletions from the NPL can revitalize communities, raise property values, and promote economic growth by signaling to potential developers and financial institutions where cleanup is complete. This can be especially impactful for disadvantaged and over-burdened communities.
Additional information on the Chemfax, Inc., Gulfport, MS site: www.epa.gov/superfund/ChemfaxInc
Additional information about EPA’s NPL deletions: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/deleted-national-priorities-list-npl-sites-state
To search for information about these and other NPL sites, visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live
Source: US EPA
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