EPA Begins Clean-Up at Abandoned Site

Aerial view of 2501 Texas with EPA hazmat removal staging area to the right.

In November 2020, DeSales filed a lawsuit against the owners of a vacant commercial property in Fox Park under Missouri’s abandoned property act. Legal Service of Eastern Missouri filed the suit for DeSales. Located at the corner of Texas Ave. and Victor St., the property had been the site of a bumper plating business since the 1920’s, utilizing multiple hazardous chemicals for nearly 100 years. Over much of this time, there was little regulation of this type of business. 

In 2021, the Missouri Circuit Court granted DeSales access to the property to conduct inspections and assessments. These revealed many open vats and barrels of suspect chemicals. The buildings comprising the property are also in advanced stages of deterioration, with large sections of roof collapsed. In June 2021, DeSales engaged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist in this effort. 

On January 27, 2022, the court granted DeSales temporary possession of the property to allow for the removal of hazardous materials. The following week the EPA set up operations on site to conduct the removal. The EPA estimates the cost of the removal at $1.3 million and the process to take several months. 

DeSales hopes to ultimately be granted title to the property by the court and redevelop it for productive use. 

April 2022 Update:

The EPA has collected and sealed more than 10,000 gallons of hazardous liquid from the site, so far - much of it previously in open containers. That includes five gallons of flammable liquid. The hazardous liquid is sealed in plastic containers and will soon be transported to a site where it can be processed and safely disposed of. DeSales is so grateful to the EPA for helping us ensure this site will no longer be a danger to the community. This is the first step in a long process to hopefully transform an actively hazardous building into something that will contribute to the Fox Park neighborhood. Stay tuned!

Inspecting the EPA’s progress at 2501 Texas

Just some of the cleanup still left to be done, including a tree that has fully grown around a bumper at the abandoned bumper-plating facility.