EPA deal opens way for former Monsanto plant redevelopment

An agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office and the owner of the former Monsanto chemical plant property south of downtown St. Louis opens the way for redevelopment of the 38-acre site.

Under an EPA agreement filed at the agency’s regional office in Kansas City, Kan., SWH Investments II LLC will take steps to clean up the commercial and industrial property at 1700 South Second Street and return it to productive use. Immediate cleanup, long-term groundwater monitoring and capping of soil contamination are among steps to be taken as part of the property’s redevelopment.

SWH Investments also will make financial assurances totaling $2.6 million to address the short-term and long-term costs of cleanup and remediation, the EPA said. SWH is led by Stacie Hastie, owner of Environment Operations Inc., of St. Louis.

From 1901 to 2006, Monsanto operated the facility to make more than 200 products, including aspirin, Saccharin, pesticides, plasticizers and synthetic fluids. Formerly owned by Monsanto, the property was acquired by Solutia Inc. in 1997. SWH bought the property last year for cleanup and redevelopment.

The EPA says major contaminants at the site include cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls in soils, plus trichloroethene and other volatile organic compounds in groundwater. The EPA estimates the short-term cleanup will remove 2,500 tons of PCB-contaminated soils and address 3.2 million gallons of contaminated groundwater.