Remediation at the Fernald Preserve site in Ohio was conducted in accordance with CERCLA regulations.
On Dec. 11, 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Commonly known as Superfund, CERCLA authorizes the federal government to respond directly to contamination that may endanger public health or the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund program works to clean up sites placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) so that they can be safely reused for the benefit of communities.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) has seven sites managed in accordance with CERCLA regulations. These sites are a testament to Superfund’s success in protecting human health and the environment.
LM’s Fernald Preserve, Ohio, Site was once the location of the former Feed Materials Production Center, a uranium-processing facility that produced high-purity uranium metal products during the Cold War. Comprehensive environmental remediation of the site was completed (except for ongoing groundwater remediation) in 2006 at a cost of $4.4 billion. At the time, this cleanup was one of the largest environmental cleanup operations ever undertaken in U.S. history. The 1,050-acre Fernald site has now come full circle, offering a visitors center, a 7-mile network of trails and habitat for over 200 different species of birds. In 2019, EPA awarded the Fernald Preserve with a National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award in recognition of its success.
The Weldon Spring Site in Missouri is one of the seven LM sites managed under CERCLA.
The Weldon Spring Site in Missouri was the location of an ordnance works during World War II and then a uranium feed materials plant during the early Cold War. Remedial activities concluded in 2001 with completion of the site’s disposal cell — a 41-acre engineered structure designed to contain the site’s waste that resulted from the cleanup. Visitors can climb to the top of the disposal cell to take in the view of the surrounding 150-acre, native prairie, or they can stay at ground level and enjoy the interpretive center and hiking and biking trails. In 2020, EPA awarded Weldon Spring Site with a National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award in recognition of its remarkable transformation.
The Rocky Flats Site in Colorado was once the location of a large industrial plant that manufactured nuclear weapons components during the Cold War. In Oct. 2005, DOE and its contractor completed an accelerated 10-year, $7 billion cleanup, that included the decommissioning, decontamination, demolishing, and removal of more than 800 structures, including six plutonium-processing and fabrication building complexes. Today, the former security buffer zone of the site is open to the public as the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
The Mound, Ohio, Site, which operated from 1948 to 2003 as part of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and later under DOE, was built to continue Dayton, Ohio, Manhattan Project work on polonium-beryllium initiators, used in early atomic weapons. The city of Miamisburg chartered the Mound Development Corporation (MDC), formerly the Miamisburg Mound Community Improvement Corporation, to transition the site for beneficial reuse as the Mound Business Park. During site cleanup, DOE supported MDC economic development efforts with grants and early transition of property.
The former Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado was added to the National Priorities List in 1989, because site operations released materials defined as hazardous substances, contaminants, and pollutants by CERCLA.
LM’s other CERCLA sites each have their own unique stories and accomplishments:
LM manages project records pertaining to the remediation activities of the Maxey Flats, Kentucky, Disposal Site, which is owned by the commonwealth of Kentucky.
In 2000, DOE transferred ownership of approximately 380 acres of land at the remediated Monticello, Utah, Processing Site, through the Federal Lands to Parks Program, for permanent use as a public park and recreation area.
Research activities at the former Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research, California, Site — located at the University of California, Davis — generated radiological and non-radiological wastes that were disposed of on-site. All buildings have been decontaminated and decommissioned, and a soil management plan is in use to ensure the safe, continued use by the university of their south campus facilities.
Prior to joining LM, Environmental Team 2 Supervisor Gwen Hooten served as an EPA remedial project manager. Hooten was awarded the Bronze Medal and recognized as a member of the Superfund Team of the Year during her tenure with EPA and was an original member of the EPA Remedy Review Board.
“I’m especially proud to see LM’s CERCLA sites put to good use,” said Hooten. “I’ve seen how important Superfund has been in keeping communities safe.”
Learn more about CERCLA and LM’s CERCLA sites at Legacy Site Programmatic Framework.