Interim Record of Decision

Interim Record of Decision

Red Lining, Superfund site, remediation

This document acted as the interim decision document that was to be adhered to until the EPA decided on a final remediation action plan. It outlined three possible solutions to the issue of lead contamination in Omaha. It also included specific details regarding the EPA’s resolution to educate and utilize the City of Omaha’s diverse communities to have them address the existence of lead contaminants in Eastern Omaha.

In addition to offering education and outreach to the City of Omaha, EPA resolved to support Eastern Omaha’s attempts at remediation through some financial endeavors and environmental programs. The document assesses the lead superfund site as well as the decided upon the remedy. The EPA ultimately decided to remove and replace contaminated soil in 9,966 residential type properties where lead readings exceeded 400 parts per million; to identify the sources of lead exposure, stabilize exterior paint if it posed a threat to the long term protectiveness gained through soil remediation; support an interior dust and vacuum program and health education; as well as increased training and education for medical professionals and community members concerning the hazard lead poses. The EPA also required that the properties identified in the document be subjected to a mandatory five-year review to ensure that the cleanup levels were completed prior to final remedial action.

According to the EPA’s final record of decision, only residential properties with levels of lead in excess of 800ppm in the soil were eligible for remediation. The most important aspect of the final record of the decision document was how they defined residential properties. EPA defines residential properties as schools, churches, parks, vacant lots in residential neighborhoods, and other non-commercial/ industrial properties. (pg number)

Unlike the final record of the decision, this document included a very important map. (pg number)The map depicts residential properties that were impacted by the historical lead emissions from lead-smelting plants. Should include inset map in page. The document claims that the areas they sampled were economically and ethnically diverse even though there is a giant blank space in the middle of the map where no sampling was done. The color-coded map denotes the residential properties by color. If a property was red, the soil contamination was extremely high compared to the threshold number of 800 ppm, while green properties were properties that still had elevated lead levels but were closer to the “acceptable” soil lead levels.

By looking at the colors, it is clear that the closer the residence was to the smelting plants the higher soil contamination there was. The area of the map with no data was not, and still is not, considered a residential area when the environmental protection agency was establishing the details of the superfund site. The areas that arguably would have the most contamination, due to proximity to the plants, are the sections of Omaha with a high prevalence of poverty, marginalization, and African American communities, which is supported by the US census data. The remediation criteria, “must be a residential property” clearly depicts the larger issue present in Omaha, that is the marginalization of African Americans through redlining and systematic marginalization of African Americans by disregarding their material needs and lack of inter-generational wealth.

EPA

Omaha Public Library, Washington Branch Library, South Omaha Library, EPA Region 7 Records Center