The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the request of the State of Arkansas is proposing to add the Cedar Chemical Corporation site in Helena-West Helena to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.
The 48-acre industrial site in Phillips County off Arkansas 242 includes six former production units, support facilities and an office. Beginning in 1970, the facility, under different owners, produced various agricultural and organic chemicals, including insecticides and herbicides. The last owner of the site, Cedar Chemical Corp., filed for bankruptcy in March 2002. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) assumed control of the site later that year to limit risk and has overseen the security and maintenance of the site, which is considered stable.
Abandoned chemicals, buried drums, contaminated groundwater, surface and subsurface soil contamination and an abandoned stormwater treatment center were among the environmental issues listed in a 2004 ADEQ comprehensive assessment report.
Under provisions of an October 2002 order by a federal bankruptcy court in New York, Cedar Chemical Corp. was allowed to abandon the site.
In 2003, EPA removed abandoned tanks and containers from the site. In 2007, ADEQ and several former operators of the site signed a consent administrative order to investigate environmental hazards. The agreement included reimbursements to the state agency for the cost of site maintenance and interim remedial measures while a comprehensive assessment of corrective actions needed at the site was developed. The Superfund list includes sites that pose potential risks to people’s health and the environment, according to the EPA. Adding the site to the National Priorities List will allow for more extensive cleanup.
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