A Midwestern city was trying to expeditiously redevelop an approximately 3,000 acre site by implementing a new urbanism concept focused on mixed residential, commercial, civic and educational site use. In the 1940’s, the U.S. Army had operated a large ammunition facilities on this site. As a result of historic onsite disposal activities, portions of the site showed some low-level contamination, and a fifty acre site parcel owned by the City was perceived by the public to be more heavily contaminated. EPA assumed oversight responsibility for the cleanup of this parcel and notified the City, the Army and our client, a large manufacturer, of their potential liability for the site cleanup. The City indicated that without the cleanup of this fifty acre parcel, the redevelopment of the entire property could not proceed. As a result, the building activities and the home show planned for this area later during the year were at risk. Read More
