Some Wildwood residents remain concerned about plans for homes to be built on the Strecker Forest development site. They want to protect future residents there from an area that has been contaminated with dioxin and other hazardous materials, despite a recent removal action.
While some are asking for more cleanup of dioxin and other contaminants on land that is proposed to become common ground for the Strecker Forest subdivision, representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency – which just completed a removal action on the so-called Ellisville site at 173 Strecker Road – insist that the additional cost of $4 to $5 million, and perhaps more, for additional site cleanup would lead to only a minuscule amount of additional contaminants being removed.
The project, which began in March, involved the excavation, transport and disposal of dioxin and other contaminated soil from the northeast corner of the property adjacent to the Bliss property’s former Mid America horse arena. EPA officials made a presentation to the Wildwood City Council at a work session on Sept. 8, describing how the project at the Ellisville site progressed, its testing results and regulation of any future use of the property.
The EPA had approved spending about $1.7 million for its latest removal action on the 1-acre site, which includes portions of the northeast corner of the Strecker Forest site and a portion of the so-called Bliss-Ellisville Superfund site.
EPA officials have said that the southern part of the 18-acre Strecker Forest property is free of contaminants exceeding federal levels of concern, except for about a half acre in the northeast corner – earmarked as common ground – where elevated dioxin levels appear to remain. The site as a whole meets federal recreational property guidelines; however, some residents have asked for a cleanup of the half-acre common ground site up to the level of standards for residential property rather than less-strict recreational property guidelines, contending that it is likely children living in the new homes would play there. If no further cleanup takes place, they’re asking that area to be fenced off.
David Williams, with the EPA’s Region 7, told Wildwood officials that approximately 95 percent of the Strecker Forest property, after the latest removal action, has less than 50 parts per trillion soil concentration contamination, the residential screening level for dioxin.
However, a portion of what will be the common ground area averages about 200 parts per trillion, acceptable under the EPA’s recreational cleanup goal.
Williams said about 1,500 tons of material was removed in total, much of it from near the old Mid America arena just to the west of Strecker Forest. Clean fill dirt was then brought in.
“As we were excavating towards the creek that is located north of the site, we were pretty confident that we were encroaching on previous EPA excavation from the 1990s, so we stopped the excavation at the creek,” he said. “Our funding never contemplated dealing with the creek. But we achieved what we set out to do, which was removal of contaminants to protective levels.”
Williams said the EPA looked at a number of factors for this action, including cost.
“We’re now into this effort at a cost of about $1.4 million,” he said. “ If we used the residential screening level as a basis for additional excavation in this and adjacent areas, we estimate an additional cost of $4 million to $5 million, and perhaps higher. This would come at the expense of other priority cleanup sites and response work in the Midwest. Our analysis suggests that our No. 1 priority goal – protection of human health – has not only been met, but has significantly exceeded the reasonable maximum exposure protectiveness standard.”
Williams added that Route 66 State Park – the former contaminated Times Beach site – used a health-based protective standard for dioxin of 640 parts per trillion.
“Hundreds visit that park weekly, and homes in Strecker Forest would be a considerable distance away from the (higher-contaminated) area,” Councilmember Randy Ladd (Ward 2) said.
Williams, who has young children, said, in response to a question from Councilmembers Marc Cox (Ward 4) and Jim Bowlin (Ward 6) that he would feel comfortable building a house and living in the future Strecker Forest area.
“The Strecker Forest tract with the higher level of contaminants isn’t where homes will go,” Williams said. “And there will be environmental covenants placed on the northeast common ground tract saying that homes shouldn’t go there in the future.”
Councilmember Sue Cullinane (Ward 3) said she feared contaminated soil could be below where the latest excavation went to, and Williams admitted “it’s likely soils up to 10 parts per billion of contaminants are there greater than a foot deep.”
She advised fencing off the common ground area by the creek.
Williams said that, even on the common ground, a child could be on the grass-covered site – preventing direct exposure to soil – up to 96 days a year and not experience health problems.
“But kids will get in the dirt and dig,” Councilmember Debra Smith McCutchen (Ward 5) said.
Cullinane insisted to Williams that “no one sitting on this dais tonight wants it on their soul that, if we approve homes on this land, a mom and dad could eventually stand where you are now and say their kids have gotten cancer.”
Williams said that, while the EPA feels a fence on the common ground isn’t necessary, the EPA “would not fight it if the city chose to do that.”
Shawn Grindstaff, site attorney with the EPA’s Region 7, said that a planned environmental covenant on the Strecker Forest site – being set up between the land owner and the EPA – will run with the land and will require an annual compliance report from the property owner to the EPA.
“Activity/land use restrictions will include that no occupied residential land use – such as homes, apartments, condos, schools and senior or child care facilities – can be on that north east (common ground) section,” he said. “And there can be no disturbance of soil there without written permission of the EPA at least 60 days before it takes place.
Cullinane said she felt it important that future, potential Strecker Forest home buyers be notified of this covenant.
Bowlin questioned that no such covenants were being required to neighboring tracts.
Williams said it is possible, after more tests of the Bliss site and properties in Ellisville, that other covenants could be set up.
Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul said he was worried about contaminated property in his city, adding that he felt the EPA accepting a 200 parts per trillion level of contamination and stopping its removal action at the creek was “reckless.”
“There are so many unknowns here,” Paul said.
Barbara Sprenger, who lives on Strecker Road, also protested the stream not being included in the testing and removal action.
She and some other area residents said they feel that the EPA is cleaning up the site just enough so they can delist the entire Bliss/Ellisvile site to avoid future federally-mandated five-year superfund site reviews there. And she claimed removing the EPA’s involvement with the site would leave the city of Ellisville more legally liable for future problems.
Former Wildwood Councilmember Tammy Shea said that even a tiny amount of dioxin remaining on the site “could cause an enormous amount of toxicity to the population.”
She claimed some of the contaminants have reached bedrock, “and this is an uncontained toxic nightmare that the EPA wants to wash its hands of.”
