Missouri Issues Final Permit Modification for Bannister Federal Complex
The permit includes an approved contingent remedy for 225 acres of the Kansas City site that are currently in the final remedy stage for soil and groundwater contamination.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) has issued a final contingent hazardous waste permit modification for the Bannister Federal Complex, a site in Kansas City that in the past was used as warehouse space and to manufacture electrical, mechanical, plastic and other non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. It is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration and the General Services Administration, which have moved their operations to new locations and have selected a private developer to explore redeveloping 225 acres of it.
The permit includes an approved contingent remedy for that acreage, which is currently in the final remedy stage for soil and groundwater contamination and includes using existing buildings to prevent contact with the contamination. According to MoDNR, during future property redevelopment, those buildings are scheduled to be demolished and the ground surface regraded. "In anticipation of these activities, the department, in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, proposed changes to the approved final remedy to ensure continued protection of human health and the environment during the demolition and redevelopment of the site," its announcement said.
DOE/NNSA and GSA are conducting the long-term monitoring and corrective action investigation and remediation activities under a department-issued Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit and EPA-issued Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit. The Part I Permit is the regulatory framework for implementation and long-term operation and maintenance of the approved final remedy. The department made proposed changes to the Part I Permit to implement the proposed changes to the final remedy and made the proposed changes available for public review and comment on May 5, 2017. Following review and response to all public comments, the department approved the proposed changes to the final remedy and Part I Permit and issued a final contingent Part I Permit modification. These changes are contingent, in that the approved changes will only become effective only if the property is transferred to the private developer at a later date. Until then, the existing approved final remedy and Part I Permit remain in effect.