The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Wednesday that it give the J.H. Baxter site in Eugene the EPA’s “Superfund” designation.
EPA Superfund sites are hazardous locations the federal agency has identified as priorities for cleanup. In a November town hall , Randy Nattis, the EPA project lead for Baxter, said the benefits of a Superfund designation would be more leverage to pressure Baxter to pay for cleanup and more access to federal money designated for Superfund projects if Baxter does prove it can’t pay.
At the time, Nattis said samples taken from the site would determine if the project was eligible for the national list. In a report the EPA released alongside its announcement , the agency scored factors — including likelihood of exposure, toxicity of the waste involved and size of the nearby population — and reached the conclusion that Baxter was eligible for a Superfund designation.
“Contamination in facility and residential property soils may pose a threat to remaining workers, trespassers, andresidents that include children,” the EPA said . “Other federal and state cleanup programs were evaluated, but no other program has the appropriate authorities or resources to address the site at this time.”