US Government selects forty toxic waste sites to develop for community use

The locations, which all appear on the National Priorities List of the worst toxic waste sites, were selected to be Superfund Redevelopment Pilots –entitling them to receive up to $100,000 each for assessment and cleanup. The aim is to return the sites to ecological or recreational use, such as retail stores, office buildings, golf courses, softball fields and tree groves.

Since the EPA initiative to award money began in July 1999, ten Superfund Sites have been redeveloped, but many more National Priority List members were developed prior to this.

One such former site is now the Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Montana. The course, designed by golf superstar Jack Nicklaus, was once a copper smelting and processing area.

The total number recycled sites now tops 190; generating some $450 million annually and employing close to 14,500 people.

“The Superfund Redevelopment Pilot projects are proving that economic development

and environmental protection go hand-in-hand, ” Browner said.