State commits funding to Superfund site cleanup

Yahoo

21-05-2025

West Virginia officials have secured $2 million in funding to complement federal monies for a phase of environmental cleanup at a Superfund site in Minden.
In a May 19 press release from Gov. Patrick Morrisey's office, the state announced the funding for the environmental cleanup of the Arbuckle Creek Superfund site in Fayette County. According to the release, the federally-matched funds were provided for as part of the 2025 budget and will go toward cleaning up decades-old contamination stemming from industrial activity at the former Shaffer Equipment Company property.
'This cleanup is a long-overdue investment in the health and safety of Minden residents,' said Morrisey. 'Thanks to the collaboration among federal, state and local partners, we are taking meaningful steps to protect West Virginians from dangerous chemicals.'
Contamination on the site stemmed from damaged transformers placed by Shaffer Equipment Company between 1970 and 1984, resulting in polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) leaking into the surrounding soil and Arbuckle Creek. According to the release, exposure to PCBs has been linked through numerous studies to a heightened cancer risk and reproductive issues.
While initial cleanup actions were taken in the 1980s and early 2000s, ongoing concerns led to further assessments by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2017. In 2019, the site was added to the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL), making it eligible for Superfund resources.
Over the years, Minden residents and others have voiced concerns with the health effects of the PCBs on local residents and the environment, as well as the effectiveness of earlier remediation efforts.
'Community input is critical to the Superfund cleanup process and is always welcomed,' said an EPA spokesperson. 'Feedback from residents helps shape the EPA's cleanup plans, ensuring they meet community needs, protect the land, air and water, and support meaningful site reuse that drives economic growth and revitalizes communities.
'Formal public comment periods throughout the Superfund process allow communities to provide input. For the first phase of the cleanup at this site, there was a public comment period from March 13-April 12, 2023 and a public meeting on March 21, 2023.' That allowed the public to comment on the proposed plan for cleaning up the soil at the Shaffer Equipment Company property.
'We are expecting to have another public comment period and public meeting towards the end of 2025 to allow the public to comment on the proposed plan for the second phase of cleanup that will address the remaining contaminated soil and sediment areas,' the EPA spokesperson said. 'The EPA prioritizes community input and welcomes it at any time.'
Bi-monthly community updates are provided, the spokesperson said.
Morrisey's office, in coordination with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), successfully secured the required $2 million state match. A formal contract between WVDEP and EPA Region 3 was finalized in April 2025, the release noted.
According to the agency spokesperson, the state funds will be utilized for construction/cleanup activities for the first phase, which will address soil contamination of the former Shaffer property. 'This requires an intricate design planning phase that takes time to implement; however, the goal is to complete the plan and begin activities in about two years.'
Minden resident Steve Hayslette Monday said that he, for one, has largely abandoned hope in the fight to get complete PCB remediation or satisfaction in the form of an opportunity to be awarded funds to be able to move away from Minden, which several years ago was incorporated into the City of Oak Hill.
He said that, to his knowledge, most of the community's residents were in favor of a hoped-for buyout by federal officials so they could relocate out of the damaged area. 'From Day 1, they said EPA don't buy out people,' said Hayslette, a former Oak Hill city councilman and the owner of Hayslette Towing and Recovery. 'It never was on the table.'
'The EPA rarely relocates residents and does not consider relocation unless the environmental data supports it,' the agency's spokesperson said. 'At this time, the environmental data/risk does not show that relocation is an appropriate response action.
'Permanent relocation is only considered in cases where contamination poses an immediate threat that cannot be mitigated or remediated, implementation of remedial measures would require the destruction of homes, or the cleanup requires residents to be temporarily relocated for over one year.'
On its website, the EPA highlights, among other things, the history of the Shaffer Equipment property, various abatement efforts, community involvement opportunities, testing sampling and information on future cleanup or other activity.
According to the timeline, a fourth removal action was initiated in October 2019 and was completed in February 2020. That featured excavation of soil from an area adjacent to a capped area and minor repairs to the capped area.
Since the Minden site was added to the NPL, EPA officials have been working with the WVDEP to review data, engage with community members and local officials and conduct remedial investigation (RI), according to the website. A second phase of RI sampling occurred from July 2021 through September 2022. That effort included the installation of monitoring wells in addition to collection of soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater samples.
In March 2023, a proposed cleanup plan to address soil contamination on the former Shaffer site was released for public review and comment. A Record of Decision was filed in July 2024. Officials are currently determining if there are additional areas requiring cleanup.
'The EPA sampled the site from 2019 through 2022 as part of the Remedial Investigation phase of the Superfund process,' the spokesperson said. 'After collecting enough data to establish an understanding of the nature and extent of contamination, our team was ready to advance in the Superfund process. We shifted our focus to planning the first phase of cleanup at the former Shaffer Equipment Company property, which was proposed in 2023.'
According to the EPA website, sampling results to date 'show that there is no immediate threat to human health. Accordingly, no immediate action is necessary.'
Hayslette, who lives one row of houses removed from Arbuckle Creek, says he is one of several Minden residents who signed up for a potential flood buyout involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the process for which was initiated in the fall of 2023. That program was not related to the PCB situation.
A lifelong local resident, the 55-year-old said it's doubtful the toxic chemicals of the past can be completely eradicated from local soil and waterways. 'How are you going to find all that and clean it up?' he asked. The ongoing project 'may remediate the site.' Giving residents a financial way out would be a better remedy, he said.
'This is an exciting moment for West Virginia and the Minden community, marking continued progress in the cleanup of the Shaffer Equipment/Arbuckle Creek Area Superfund site,' the spokesperson said. 'The EPA looks forward to working alongside WVDEP and local residents to fulfill our commitment to provide clean air, land and water for all Americans.'
To learn more about the Arbuckle Creek Superfund Site, visit cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0304017.