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Superfund stigma often a hindrance for development
Superfund sites often face problems with redevelopment.
By David Wolfgang and Leighann C. Manwarren, Staff Writers
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Published: October 10, 2010
Oklahoman
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A "For Sale" sign sits by the fence along side "Ristricted Area" signs at the Superfund site on NW 10th street in Oklahoma City, Okla on Tuesday June 20, 2010. Photo by Mitchell Alcala, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD
On NE 10 just east of Interstate 35, a small sign outside a former junkyard warned visitors they are not wanted.
“Restricted area,” the sign read. “Hazardous waste site entry not permitted.”
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Past the chain link fence in the waist-high weeds, there was another sign. It read: “For sale.”
Efforts nationwide to redevelop tracts of land with past environmental problems like this one have had mixed results, and Oklahoma City is no different.
The Skirvin Hilton Hotel, the Dell Inc. campus and many locations in Bricktown were once like the junkyard: Abandoned and environmentally scarred. The Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City was filled with asbestos; Dell's campus operates on top of a closed city landfill; and much of Bricktown stands on top of old oil fields.
Those locations were aided by the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfield program, which provides federal money to turn places like oil fields, landfills and asbestos-laden buildings into safe places to live and work.
But such redevelopment success isn't always the case for locations that make it into another high-profile EPA sponsored program, Superfund. Redeveloping those lands is often much more difficult, despite the millions of dollars spent cleaning up those sites.
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