The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented the Region 4 Excellence in Site Reuse Awards to our Gerald Pouncey, MMM Chairman, and Heather Friedman, Environmental Partner. The award recognizes leadership, innovative thinking, and a collaborative approach to the reuse of the Koppers Co. Inc (Charleston Plant) Superfund Site.
For almost 15 years, the MMM Environmental team has been working on the 200-acre Magnolia project in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the highest-profile brownfield redevelopment projects in the country. The redevelopment of the property will take underutilized former industrial properties and create a mixed-use town center along the Ashley River. MMM has advised past and current developers for this site. Over the years, developers have been focused on remediating a 102-acre tract within the overall development. This particular tract was listed on the EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL) which includes the most heavily contaminated and environmentally complex sites in the country. The listing on the NPL created a significant hurdle to redevelopment. After performing the cleanup, submitting various comprehensive reports, and engaging in extensive meetings and negotiations with senior EPA officials over several years, MMM secured the site’s deletion from the NPL. It is the first time that a “technical impracticability” waiver was utilized in EPA Region 4 (covering most of the South) which was critical to allow for the deletion from the NPL.
