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Assessment Grant
The EPA has selected Sarpy County for a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant for hazardous substances. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct a Phase II environmental site assessment at the 955-acre PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer site at 202 Allied Road in La Platte. The currently vacant site was used to manufacture fertilizer for more than 40 years.
Assessment Plans
The Brownfield Assessment funds will be used to conduct a thorough Phase II Environmental Assessment that will be used to assess the nature and help understand the extent of contamination, as well as to provide for ongoing community involvement and formulate plans for cleanup and/or redevelopment of the site. The citizens of Sarpy County have long recognized the excellent potential for employment and recreational opportunities that redevelopment of the Brownfields site represents.
By performing the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment, information about the levels of contamination at the site will be available so that plans can be made for cleanup of the site by the current or even a new owner under the Nebraska Voluntary Cleanup Program. After the assessments and required cleanup are complete then the site would be ready for redevelopment/reuse.
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Sarpy County was selected to receive an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant in 2009. Located in eastern Nebraska, Sarpy County (population 141,376) was explored by Lewis and Clark and settled by fur traders, farmers, and entrepreneurs. Sarpy is a rapidly growing county with a population that has increased by 15 percent over the past five years. The target site, PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer, has been vacant since 1999. Its closing resulted in the loss of jobs and tax revenues for the county.
The site is situated at the confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers, both of which provide wildlife habitat, as well as drinking water and recreational opportunities for residents of Nebraska and Iowa. Potential contamination from this 955-acre site poses threats to human health and the ecology of the area. The stigma associated with the site is one of the main obstacles to redevelopment. The EPA Assessment Grant is expected to facilitate site cleanup/reuse planning and make the site more attractive for redevelopment.
EPA's Brownfields Program
This program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse Brownfield. A Brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, the EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
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Project Update: June 8, 2010
In March, Phase II Sampling was completed and the results are now available. Olsson Associates collected more than 200 samples of soil and groundwater across the site. Olsson’s team compared the results of the sampling to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) standard for industrial sites. Based on the results, one area onsite was identified with soil contaminant levels above the NDEQ VCP industrial site standard. The site is former electrical substation located in the production area.
After discussing the results of the sampling efforts with the EPA, the Sarpy County Administrator, and PCS Nitrogen representatives, the project team has decided to remobilize the sampling team and collect additional soil samples at the electrical substation site. The additional sampling efforts will help characterize the extent of soil contamination at the substation site.
Currently, Olsson Associates is revising the sampling plan to include the additional soil sampling. Once the EPA has approved the revised plan, the sampling team will head out to the field and collect the additional soil samples. After the samples are analyzed and the summary report is reviewed by the EPA, meetings will be held to discuss the results of the sampling efforts and redevelopment plans for the site.
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