Cleanup
Razing of the houses (which sold for $70,000 to $90,000 when the subdivision was being built) began Jan. 2, 1997. Site remediation was originally to be done through an on-site incinerator, but after a significant portion of the incinerator apparatus was built, the plan was scrapped due to community opposition and the fact that many of the pollutants were nonburnable minerals. The South Belt-Ellington Leader, a community newspaper still in publication as of March 2011, was known for publishing details of the Brio Superfund site and being a key opponent to onsite incineration.
The EPA determined that full remediation was infeasible given technological and financial constraints, so the in-place containment with clay slurries and various forms of site monitoring was performed. Today the area is restricted by a surrounding fence with "no trespassing" signs. Some remains of the baseball field can be found in the surrounding wooded areas. The site is currently in an operations and maintenance phase and monitored by the EPA. The Third Five Year Review was completed on April 25, 2008. The review found that the remedy at the site is currently protective of human health and the environment. Elevated groundwater contaminant concentrations have been reported in the Fifty-Foot Sand water bearing zone (FFSZ) at one well within the Brio Site boundary. The Brio Site Task Force is completing field work for an investigation of the FFSZ groundwater at multiple locations on site in order to assess the need for further remedial action. The next Five-Year REview Report is scheduled for completion by April 25, 2013.
Read more about this topic: Brio Superfund Site