EPA cleanup begins on Troy Superfund site east of Public Square

Project will remove, replace soil to prevent contamination.

TROY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said work is beginning this month on the cleanup at the East Troy Contaminated Aquifer site, where remedial work was done in 2007, including installing vapor abatement systems in homes and a school.

The project is moving forward now, as part of a larger $1 billion in funding for cleanup projects at more than 100 Superfund sites awarded to EPA and received through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The project involves removal of parking lot dirt and replacement with new soil. EPA said the soil will be disposed of off-site.

“This will also prevent migration of contamination to potential drinking water sources,” EPA said.

The East Troy site was placed on the federal Superfund clean-up list due to volatile organic compounds, primarily common industrial chemicals and contaminated groundwater, soil and indoor air, the EPA said.

The area includes 20 square blocks in the city of Troy near the Great Miami River along East Water Street. It extends from South Walnut Street on the northwest (a block from the Public Square) to Canal and Scott streets on the southwest, Floral Avenue on the southeast, and the river at the northeast.

Patrick Titterington, Troy’s service and safety director, said the work will be focused on the former Hobart Cabinet building next to the railroad tracks in the 300 block of East Water Street. The area is a few blocks east of the Public Square.

“The city will not play any role in the cleanup unless USEPA asks us for any information,” he said. No city property is involved.

He reminded residents that the project is not new to the community. “(It) has been worked on for almost two decades.”

Although plans have been mentioned for possible development along East Water Street — including the former Spinnaker property where building removal is nearing completion in the 500 block — no plans have been filed with the city as of this week.

The Superfund program was approved by Congress in 1980. This law gave the EPA the authority to hold polluters accountable for cleanup of the most contaminated sites in the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford cleanup, EPA steps in to address risks to human health and environment using money such as the recently approved infrastructure law, according to the EPA website.