Public Notice: Big River Mine Tailings/St. Joe Minerals Corp. National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund Site, St. Francois County, Missouri
Summary
Second Five-Year Review Completed
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 has completed the Second Five-Year Review (FYR) of the cleanup decision (remedy) at the Big River Mine Tailings/St. Joe Minerals Corp. National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund Site (site) across St. Francois County, Missouri.
FYRs are required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, when hazardous substances remain on-site above levels that allow unrestricted use and unlimited exposure. FYRs provide an opportunity to evaluate the site’s cleanup decision to determine whether it remains protective of human health and the environment.
A protectiveness determination of the remedy at Operable Unit 1 (OU1), Residential Act/Source Control, cannot be made at this time until further information is obtained. EPA aims to apply the 2024 Updated Soil Lead Guidance for CERCLA Sites and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Facilities; review soil screening levels with cleanup goals; and determine if additional actions are needed to protect human health, the environment, and further reduce lead poisoning risks (also known as elevated blood lead levels) in young children at this site. This process may take two years to complete, so EPA plans to publish a FYR Addendum and updated protectiveness determination in or around March 2027.
Also, since planned Institutional Controls (ICs) are not yet in place to implement at the site, EPA will work with local and state partners to develop an IC plan and process to maintain mechanisms to protect people from contaminated soils (abandoned mining hazardous wastes) remaining in the subsurface of some residential yards following remediation (soil replacement).
Information Repository
View the FYR and other documents in the Administrative Record file on EPA’s Site Profile page (see Site Documents & Data). If you do not have internet access, you can view these documents online at a local public library, such as:
Farmington Public Library
101 North A Street
Farmington, MO 63640
573-756-5779
or
EPA Region 7 Records Center
11201 Renner Blvd.
Lenexa KS 66219
1-800-223-0425
EPA posts Fact Sheets for Missouri cleanup sites online.
Lead Testing and Cleanup Opportunity
If EPA has not tested your residential yard and/or a property with high child usage, contact EPA today to sign up. EPA will sample and test yard soils and domestic drinking water wells for contamination. At eligible properties, EPA can provide cleanup, currently at no cost to the property owner. Contact EPA’s sampling contractor, Tetra Tech, at 573-358-8772; or EPA at hensley.sarah@epa.gov.
Annual Childhood Lead Testing
EPA encourages parents and caregivers to have children under 7 years old tested for elevated blood lead levels annually. Talk to your pediatrician, general physician, St. Francois County Health Center (1025 West Main St., Park Hills, MO 63601; 573-431-1947), or other health care professionals to arrange for blood lead screening.
Contact EPA
If you have questions about the site or the FYR process, please contact:
- Elizabeth Kramer, community involvement coordinator, at kramer.elizabeth@epa.gov or 913-551-7186
- Sarah Hensley, remedial project manager, at hensley.sarah@epa.gov or 913-551-7241
U.S. EPA Region 7
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219
Toll-free: 1-800-223-0425