Columbus superfund site cleanup

COLUMBUS, Miss. - After removing some 50,000 tons of contaminated soil, trustees of a federal superfund site here are asking area residents about redevelopment proposals for the 90-acre site – the former Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. creosote plant. Some of the concepts may include open public spaces, residential, light industrial uses, and a town center concept. The Greenfield Multistate Trust is using $68M from a federal court settlement to clean up the property and prepare it for redevelopment of the site, where Kerr-McGee and Tronox Corp. treated railroad cross ties with creosote from 1928-2003. Many KM employees and nearby residents developed health problems linked to exposure to creosote. The main site's southernmost area is located in a flood plain, and likely to be used primarily for floodwater retention in some type of park. The western area, where contamination is highest, will have more restrictions, which means it will most likely be open space or limited development. All three concepts featured a community center in the NE corner. Charles King, project manager for EPA's Superfund cleanup work, said cleanup of this first area is 95 percent complete. The land could be available for redevelopment within six months. Concepts include residential and light industry. King said the main site is still in the early stages of cleanup. Sampling has begun in order to get “information on risks," he said. "I would expect the physical work … to begin around the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021." (Source: The AP 11/24/19) https://www.djournal.com/news/around-mississippi/as-cleanup-continues-new-uses-eyed-for-contaminated-site/article_377fee08-4700-5874-9845-c2921bee9ba3.html