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Note: The resources on this page are for educational purposes. All information and links are from publicly available sources.
Sunflower Ammunition Plant
Sunflower Ammunition Plant
Laws pertaining to toxic substances relevant to contaminated lands remediation:
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (Referred to as "RCRA")
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Referred to as "Superfund" or "CERCLA")
2002 Brownfields Amendments to CERCLA
A key difference for our purposes, is that RCRA pertains to cleanups on properties where there is a responsible party that can be identified (in the case of the Sunflower Ammunition Plant that was the Army) while under CERCLA, Superfund and brownfields cleanups must be done on abandoned sites and sites where responsible parties can't be easily identified and held responsible for the contamination.
RCRA: "Hazardous waste is regulated under Subtitle C of RCRA. EPA has developed a comprehensive program to ensure that hazardous waste is managed safely from the moment it is generated to its final disposal (cradle-to-grave). Under Subtitle C, EPA may authorize states to implement key provisions of hazardous waste requirements in lieu of the federal government. If a state program does not exist, EPA directly implements the hazardous waste requirements in that state. Subtitle C regulations set criteria for hazardous waste generators, transporters, and treatment, storage and disposal facilities. This includes permitting requirements, enforcement and corrective action or cleanup. " source
CERCLA (Superfund and the Brownfields amendment): "The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act -- otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund -- provides a Federal "Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment. Through CERCLA, EPA was given power to seek out those parties responsible for any release and assure their cooperation in the cleanup." source
EPA Region 7 Approves Permit Modification at Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto, Kansas
EPA Region 7 Approves Permit Modification at Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto, Kansas
August 2, 2022
Contact Information
Shannan Beisser (beisser.shannan@epa.gov)
816-520-1949
LENEXA, KAN. (AUG. 2 , 2022) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 has approved modification to a permit issued to Sunflower Redevelopment LLC and the U.S. Army at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto, Kansas. This permit modification, made with the support of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), paves the way for the property’s redevelopment.
The former plant has been operating under a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action permit since 1991. Based upon Sunflower Redevelopment LLC’s demonstration of cleanup activities, EPA approved the requested modification, thereby removing certain areas of the property from permit requirements.
Corrective action cleanup activities will continue in areas still subject to the permit. Groundwater across the entire property, including the area removed from the permit, will be addressed as part of future work. In July, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced that the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant will be the future site of Panasonic Energy Co.’s battery manufacturing plant.
“Years of hard work and collaboration between EPA Region 7, KDHE, and the permittees have gone into cleaning up the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “This permit modification recognizes the successes gained and opens the door for the property’s reuse as the site of the largest economic development project in Kansas’ history.”
“Redevelopment of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant is a testament to the success that comes when government and the private sector work together in a cooperative manner,” said KDHE Deputy Secretary for Environment Leo Henning. “Working with EPA, the U.S. Army Environmental program, and private business, KDHE is excited to be a part of the redevelopment work at the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.”
EPA Region 7 will mail a notice of this permit modification to Kansas residents and businesses near the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.
Resources about the Sunflower Ammunition Plant and Panasonic Battery Plant
Resources about the Sunflower Ammunition Plant and Panasonic Battery Plant
Kansas Department of Health and Environment documents for the cleanup - KDHE is the agency in charge of overseeing the cleanup
US Army website covering the cleanup
Environmental restoration program update for Sunflower Ammunition Plant cleanup
De Soto city website covering the cleanup and redevelopment
De Soto city website covering the Panasonic battery plant
Panasonic to convert Kansas EV battery factory for data centre applications
A multibillion-dollar development bonanza is haunted by decades-old land concerns
Before RCRA was passed in 1976 the regulation of toxic substances was lax, cleanup of accidental spills was not always done, and many contaminated properties were abandoned with no cleanup and no identifiable responsible party. This led to a legacy of abandoned contaminated properties that were then covered by the passage of CERCLA (Superfund) in 1980. Smaller sites were still often left out of cleanup programs, so the passage of the brownfields amendment in 2002 greatly helped communities with cleanup and redevelopment of sites like abandoned gas stations, dry cleaners, warehouses, and the like.
Many of these sites were federal facilities, falling under the military. Decommissioning these sites and turning them over to state, local, and tribal governements for for economic redevelopment has been a complex and decades long process.
20251104 SFAAP Cleanup Fact Sheet.pdfGoogle Sites
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