The following press release was published by the US EPA on Sept. 9. It is reproduced in full below.
Society Hill, SC (September 9, 2021) — This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is adding four sites and proposing to add another 13 sites including the Galey and Lord Plant site in Society Hill, South Carolina to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) where releases of contamination pose significant human health and environmental risks. EPA is also withdrawing a previously proposed site, following the Agency’s science-based determination that placing the site on the NPL is not needed to protect human health and the environment.
With this Superfund NPL update, the Biden-Harris Administration is demonstrating a commitment to updating the NPL twice a year. By pledging to add sites more regularly to the NPL, EPA is taking action to protect the health of communities across the country while cleaning up and returning blighted properties to safe and productive reuse in areas where environmental cleanup and jobs are needed most.
“EPA recognizes that no community deserves to have contaminated sites near where they live, work, pray, and go to school. By adding sites to the Superfund NPL, we are helping to ensure that more communities living near the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination have the protection they deserve,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to increasing funding and working with Congress on the bipartisan infrastructure deal to provide the Superfund Program with the resources it needs to address a backlog of sites awaiting cleanup, as well as additional sites in need of cleanup.”
"EPA continues to protect public health and the environment in communities where industrial contamination from the past continues to pose a threat," said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator John Blevins. "Once the Galey and Lord Plant site is listed on the NPL, we will begin a comprehensive study and cleanup work in Society Hill to help ensure that health and the environment in this community is protected."
The Galey and Lord Plant site is a former textile mill and finishing facility located adjacent to Cedar Creek and the Great Pee Dee River. The site began operations in 1966 and was abandoned in 2016. The facility encompasses about 234 acres and includes two main plant buildings, a boiler house, coal silos, coal pile/storage area, a coal runoff pond, landfills, a suspected spray field, a chromic acid pit, tank farms, and a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Several basins, tanks, clarifiers, former sand drying beds, and an effluent flow measurement and sampler comprise the WWTP. More information about the site can be found at www.epa.gov/superfund/galey-and-lord-plant.
The primary concern for human health and the environment at the site is exposure to contaminated surface water and sediments. Cedar Creek and the Great Pee Dee River adjacent to and downstream of the site, include a fishery, wetlands, critical habitat for endangered species, and recreational areas. There is a potential threat to human health through the consumption of fish and accidental ingestion of water.
EPA is adding the following sites to the NPL:
EPA is also proposing to add the following sites to the NPL:
This list includes sites contaminated with lead and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), two contaminants that the EPA is committed to addressing using the best available science, and our full range of statutory authorities.
With this update, the Agency is also withdrawing a previous proposal to add the Highway 71/72 Refinery in Bossier City, Louisiana, to the NPL because a responsible party, under EPA oversight, is advancing the site’s cleanup. EPA uses all available tools to ensure the protection of human health and the environment, and various non-NPL site cleanup alternatives may be more appropriate to meet a specific site’s cleanup needs.
Background
The NPL includes the nation's most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. The list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.
EPA proposes sites to the NPL based on a scientific determination of risks to people and the environment, consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.
Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited for significant reductions in both birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24 percent within three miles of sites after cleanup.
Further, thanks to Superfund cleanups, communities are now using previously blighted properties for a wide range of purposes, including retail businesses, office space, public parks, residences, warehouses, and solar power generation. As of 2020, EPA has collected economic data on 632 Superfund sites, finding 9,900 businesses in operation, 227,000 people employed, $16.3 billion in employee-earned income, and $63.3 billion in business-generated sales.
For information about Superfund and the NPL, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund
For Federal Register notices and supporting documents for NPL and proposed sites, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/current-npl-updates-new-proposed-npl-sites-and-new-npl-sites
Source: US EPA
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