By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
An agreement has been reached between the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will provide long-term stewardship for 150 Minuteman II missile silos and 15 launch sites in west-central Missouri.
The silos, which were imploded when they were deactivated in the 1990s, are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls. Because of that, the sites will be monitored to make sure the contamination remains at each site. The agencies do not want wells drilled near the silos and they do not want the soil above them disturbed. In most cases, the silos remain fenced.
Records show about 14 of the silos were located in Bates County and six were in Vernon County. The missile sites were part of the nation’s defense program from the 1960s to the 1990s.
The sites were dismantled in the 1990s as part of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) signed with the former Soviet Union. During the first silo deactivation and implosions, polychlorinated biphenyls were found in waterproof coating of the silo works and underground storage tanks. By allowing contamination to remain at the sites, institutional controls were required in the property deeds as use restrictions and covenants.
The decision to leave the environmental “waste’’ in place was based on the risk analysis performed after extensive sampling and monitoring, said Larry Erickson, federal facilities section chief for the DNR.
Erickson said the silos are covered.
“A concrete cap was placed on them and plastic barriers that warn of the silo below were put over the tops of the caps,’’ he said. “On top of that, they put seven feet of soil.’’
Farming will not be allowed on top of them, he said. But the sites can be used as storage lots for farm equipment and livestock staging areas.
“It’s a good fit for agriculture,” Erickson said. “A majority of sites will now be used for agricultural purposes. The main issues are we don’t want to disturb the cap and we don’t want to impact the land-use controls by drilling a well out there.’’
The agreement means the state and federal government will work cooperatively to continue to monitor the engineering and land-use controls at these sites.
All of the sites have been transferred to private ownership, except for one launch control facility, Oscar I, at Whiteman Air Force Base. This one site, although decommissioned, is being preserved for its historical attributes.
“This is another common-sense solution for an ongoing long-term issue,’’ said Doyle Childers, director of the DNR.
For many years the United States Air Force, with oversight from the state and EPA, took samples of the sites because of known contamination that was left in place.
Information:
Missouri Department of Natural Resources at (800) 361-4827 or visit www.whiteman.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123057942.
Local News
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0>Agreement reached for missile silos<font color="#ff0000"> w/ link to EPA information on PCBs</font>
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Cold air headed this way
The Arctic front that passed over Missouri this morning will bring dangerously cold temperatures to the region tonight and Saturday.
-
Miami, Okla., man dies along I-44
A 27-year-old Miami, Okla., who appeared to be walking along I-44 in an attempt to get help after wrecking his car, is dead after being hit by a pickup truck.
-
Mo. presidential primary sets low mark in turnout
Just 8 percent of Missouri’s registered voters cast ballots in this week’s presidential primary.
-
Okla. court upholds man’s life sentence in deaths
An Oklahoma appeals court has upheld the life in prison sentences of a man convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the shotgun slayings of two men at a Sperry residence.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
