The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chose the Middlesex South, New Jersey, Site to receive the sixth annual National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award. The site, also known as the Middlesex Sampling Plant, won the award in the Superfund National Priorities List category.
The award recognizes the accomplishments of federal agencies, states, tribes, local partners, and developers that restore and reuse contaminated land at federal facilities.
“We are honored to be recognized by EPA with this esteemed award. The remediation efforts were a catalyst, but it also took vision and commitment from the community to turn this property into a valuable resource,” said Carmelo Melendez, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management director. “This site demonstrates the importance of the work addressing the nation’s nuclear weapons legacy and how cooperation with state, local, and federal partners can generate opportunities for smart reuse.”
This is the fifth LM site recognized with an EPA Reuse Award. In the NPL category, EPA recognized the Fernald Preserve, Ohio, Site in 2019; the Weldon Spring Site, Missouri, in 2020; and the Rocky Flats Site, Colorado, in 2021. In the non-NPL category, Las Colonias Park in Grand Junction, Colorado – site of the former Climax Uranium Mill – received the award in 2021.
“EPA is honored to highlight the work and tremendous partnerships needed to address contaminated federal facilities and implement a locally driven reuse strategy to safeguard and revitalize communities and the environment,” said Barry Breen, EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management acting assistant administrator.
DOE began cleanup at the U.S. government-owned Middlesex South site in 1980 under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. In 1997, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took over site cleanup under the same program, remediating surface soils to an unrestricted-use level. Once USACE completes the groundwater cleanup, LM will take over long-term stewardship of the site, which includes routine inspections, monitoring, maintenance, records-related activities, and stakeholder support.
In 2018, the Borough of Middlesex proposed acquiring the site for a Department of Public Works and Office of Emergency Management facility and public road. The road currently supports a $40 million warehouse development designed to meet standards set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, as well as a larger community redevelopment zone.
Darina Castillo, LM FUSRAP manager, said LM, USACE, EPA, the U.S. General Services Administration, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Borough of Middlesex, and the developer worked hand in hand to move the project forward.
“This has truly been a team effort on many levels,” Castillo said. “LM’s FUSRAP and Asset Management teams spent significant time and effort developing creative solutions to the twists and turns over four years to support a beneficial reuse request from the local municipality.”
The facility and warehouse projects will help the borough grow and are consistent with the borough’s Lincoln Boulevard Redevelopment Plan. The warehouse development alone will provide increased tax revenue and more than 150 jobs to the community.
The current Public Works facility is being considered for conversion to a senior center, said LM Beneficial Reuse Asset Manager Diana Trettin.
“This was the first time a FUSRAP site has been awarded this honor and I want to congratulate the entire team,” Trettin said. “The site is an exceptional study in beneficial reuse in an urban setting.”
The 2023 non-NPL category Reuse Award went to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s former Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City, Missouri. The government built aircraft engines at the nearly 3-million-square-foot under-roof site during World War II, which resulted in significant soil and groundwater contamination.
The site was transferred to a private developer in 2017. After carrying out extensive demolition and remediation, the developer built a warehouse and distribution industrial park on the site. It’s home to five modern industrial and distribution buildings; additional buildings will eventually cover about 2.6 million square feet. The development is expected to bring 1,500 jobs to an economically challenged area of Kansas City. LM and NNSA are planning the site’s transition to LM for long-term stewardship in 2026.
EPA is responsible for ongoing cleanup and property transfer at nearly 2,400 federal facility sites, including 175 federal facilities on the Superfund National Priorities List — some of the largest and most complex cleanup sites in the United States. EPA created the National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award to recognize outstanding collaborative outcomes at federal facility sites.
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