Officials with the Region 7 office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined members of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the city of Wichita and Chisolm Creek Utility Authority (CCUA) to mark another round of dunging from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act for Superfund sites statewide.
According to the EPA news release, the funds will target three Superfund states in the state, at North Broadway and 57th streets in Wichita, the Plating Inc. tract in Great Bend and the Caney Residential Yards site in Caney, with the money coming from President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.
“We are honored to be in the largest city in Kansas to celebrate the second round of funding for Superfund sites from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister said in the agency’s news release. “The 57th and North Broadway Streets Site is a collaborative project between EPA, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and Chisholm Creek Utility Authority. It is truly an example of the collaborative spirit of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
According to the EPA release, the funds help pay for collaborative projects, like the Wichita site, operated jointly by the EPA, KDHE and CCUA.
The EPA news release noted the key contaminant at the site in Wichita is tetrachloroethene (PCE), and a groundwater extraction and filtering system helped curb issues and prevent any continued problems.
The EPA noted in its news release it will operate the treatment system for a year after its completion, with the KDHE taking over operation for a decade before passing it on to the CCUA.
The event, according to the release, included EPA officials, and representatives from Wichita, KDHE and CCUA. The release noted Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple thanked the Biden administration and the EPA for getting behind the cleanup plans.
Moreover, CCUA member Ty Lasher, who is Bel Aire’s city administrator, pointed out in the news release that the project would reap benefits for residents in neighboring communities and safeguard water in the state.
