Michael S. Regan 16th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency | Official Website
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 has entered into an administrative settlement agreement for response actions at the HPI Chemicals Inc. site in St. Joseph, Missouri. This agreement includes a covenant not to sue, established through a prospective purchaser agreement (PPA) with the City of St. Joseph and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
HPI Products Inc., an active Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) enforcement site, is currently under a unilateral administrative order and consent decree. Over the past year, an EPA Region 7 on-scene coordinator has been overseeing cleanup activities at HPI Products Inc.'s facilities in St. Joseph. These activities have included product and waste characterization, bulking products and wastes for proper disposal, and arranging for the disposal of improperly stored products and wastes.
Under this new agreement, EPA Region 7 and DOJ will refrain from suing the City of St. Joseph in exchange for the city's commitment to remove and dispose of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-containing ballasts from a specified property, which will subsequently be capped. The city plans to repurpose this capped property as a parking lot for a nearby fire station.
The PPA will undergo a 30-day public comment period after being signed by EPA, DOJ, and the City of St. Joseph. It will become effective once the city acquires the property following the conclusion of this comment period.
Interested individuals can provide their comments online via the Federal Register on EPA's website.
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