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Fact Sheet
October 2009
Temporary Soil Staging to Resume in North Omaha, Omaha Lead Superfund Site, Omaha, Nebraska
INTRODUCTION
Environmental Restoration (ER) has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue the ongoing cleanup of lead-contaminated soil in residential yards at the Omaha Lead Site. To perform the work under this contract, ER has been issued a permit by the city of Omaha to resume operation of a temporary soil staging area on property located at 3510 North 33rd Street. Operations at this staging area will be similar to past operations, and will include:
- Equipment storage.
- Stockpiling of clean soil (used for backfilling excavated areas).
- Temporary staging of lead-contaminated soil removed from yards before transporting to a landfill for final disposal.
ER will also use this property as their business headquarters. The property was used for similar purposes from 2004 through 2006 by two previous EPA cleanup contractors, and prior to that was used by a local trucking firm to store trucks and other materials, including demolition debris. The property is zoned for industrial use.
This notice is to inform neighborhood residents about the planned activities in the community. Operation of the temporary staging area will be limited to daylight hours to minimize noise and truck traffic along 33rd Street, Bedford Avenue and Pratt Street. The haul routes to and from the temporary staging area are shown in the figure below.
ER is required to take the following safety measures to ensure safe operation of the temporary soil staging area:
- All traffic laws will be obeyed to allow for safe passage through the community
- All loaded dump trucks will be covered with tarps
- Soil piles will be covered at the end of each day. Dust will be controlled during dry conditions by sprayed water
- Air monitoring will be conducted around the perimeter of the facility to assure that wind-blown dust is suppressed.
- A 6-foot wire security fence will be put in place with locked gates around the facility
- Contaminated soil will be contained by a cement block stockade, totally isolated from clean soil
- A storm water pollution plan has been established and will be followed consistently.
BACKGROUND
The Omaha Lead Site includes residential properties in eastern Omaha where soils where contaminated with lead from past smelting operations. The impacted area is approximately 27 square miles and includes more than 40,000 properties. All residential properties within the boundaries of the site are being tested by EPA to measure lead concentration in soil, and EPA estimates that approximately 16,000 properties will be eligible for soil cleanup. The Site includes portions of the area bounded by Read Street on the north, 56th Street on the west, Harrison Street on the south, and the Missouri River on the east.
At the request of the City, EPA began an investigation of lead concentrations in soil in 1998. EPA began excavating and replacing soils at child-care and residential properties in 1999. Soil cleanups have been completed at more than 5,000 properties in eastern Omaha to date. The cleanup work being conducted by EPA includes excavation of soil with a lead concentration greater than 400 parts per million, public health education, and stabilization of exterior lead-based paint on deteriorating homes. EPA is also developing a program to distribute high-efficiency vacuum cleaners to eligible properties to help control lead-contaminated dust inside homes.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
More information about the Omaha Lead Site can be viewed at EPA's website:
https://www.epa.gov/region07/cleanup/npl_files/index.htm
Information about the Site is available for review on CDs/DVDs during regular business hours at the following locations:
W. Dale Clark Main Library
215 South 15th Street
(402) 444-4800
Washington Branch Library
2816 Ames Avenue
(402) 444-4849
And also available in hard copy at the:
EPA Public Information Center (North)
3040 Lake Street
(402) 991-9583
If you have questions about the planned temporary staging area, please contact:
Debbie Kring
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. EPA, Region 7, K.C. KS
Toll Free: 1-800-223-0425
OR
Pauletta France-Isetts
U.S. EPA - Omaha Field Office
(402) 731-2454