Hazardous Waste Program
Drycleaner Assessment Project - Background
Dry cleaning operations in Missouri are far "cleaner" than in past years. Today, dry cleaners are regulated by numerous federal and state environmental laws including air, water, hazardous waste and occupational safety regulations. Together with the use of new dry cleaning technologies, these regulations have eliminated most releases of hazardous waste into the environment.
In the past, however, environmental laws weren’t as strict. Dry cleaners, like other commercial and industrial activities of the time, disposed of wastes according to the laws and accepted practices of the time. Historically, some dry cleaners may have discarded wastes by pouring wastewater into sewers, throwing used filters and sludge into the trash, or by simply dumping wastewater on the ground near their facilities. In many cases, the current property owners are not associated with these past disposal practices.
At some dry cleaning facilities, past disposal and management practices may have resulted in contamination of soil and groundwater to an extent that requires cleanup.
If there is an old dry cleaner, a current dry cleaner, a building or a piece of property you believe at one time may have been a dry cleaner, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources may be able to help. We can help identify environmental concerns and offer cleanup assistance, maximizing your redevelopment efforts. Cities, counties, quasi-governmental entities and non-profit organizations sometimes have difficulty finding adequate funding to pay for environmental assessments and cleanup prior to redevelopment. By leveraging the department’s assessment and cleanup programs and other funding opportunities, communities can successfully bring property that may have been a former dry cleaner back into productive use.
Drycleaning Environmental Response Trust, or DERT, Fund
Missouri’s Drycleaning Environmental Response Trust Fund was established in 2000 to provide monies for the investigation, assessment, and cleanup of releases of chlorinated solvents from eligible dry cleaning facilities. DNR maintains a list of active, abandoned or potential dry cleaners in the state.
More information about the DERT Fund is available at http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/hwp/dert/hwpvcp-dryclean.htm
Brownfields Site-Specific Assessments
For eligible entities, the department’s Brownfields/Voluntary Cleanup Program, or BVCP, can provide Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments for the property through the Brownfields Site-Specific Assessment Program. Eligible entities include cities, counties, quasi-governmental entities and non-profit organizations.
The Brownfields Site-Specific Assessment program provides services and technical assistance to help communities in assessing properties. Often, it is the unknown environmental condition of the property that dissuades developers. Brownfields Site-Specific Assessment provides valuable information that can aid in making decisions regarding the future of the property.
The entity does not have to own the property, but must have an interest in its redevelopment. If the property is not yet in your possession, these assessments are vital to remove your entity's potential liability for cleanup costs under the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, also known as Superfund.
General information on environmental site assessments are available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_I_Environmental_Site_Assessment
If you are not certain that this location was a dry cleaner, the BVCP can still provide you with an assessment to aid in the determination of the former land use of the property. This assessment will determine if the property has any chance of contamination, and can serve as your due diligence, or All Appropriate Inquiry, under CERCLA law. This assessment will also provide you the necessary information to determine if the property is eligible for reimbursement under the DERT Fund.
More information about BVCP’s Site-specific Assessment Program is available on our Brownfield Site-Specific Assessment Fact Sheet Adobe .
The department has changed all fill-in forms to PDF fill-in. You will be able to save and reuse these PDF forms. However, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 or higher to save the PDF fill-in form. Also, at this time the department does not accept digital signatures. If your Acrobat Reader prompts you to use one, we ask that you don't.
Fill out the Brownfield Assessment Application Form and Consent to Access Property Form for a free Environmental Assessment. If eligible, the department will provide, at no cost to you, a Phase I Environmental Assessment and, if warranted, a Phase II Environmental Assessment.
Additional Funding
Additional funds may be available to help you complete the cleanup and redevelopment project. The Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority, or EIERA, administers a revolving loan fund from which the EIERA will provide loans and sub-grants to support cleanup activities for contaminated sites. Any public (except the state) or private entity can be eligible for loans to pay for the cleanup of brownfields properties, as long as certain conditions are met. These loans and sub-grants potentially could be used to meet the DERT Fund deductible and/or used as bridge loans to pay for the cleanup until reimbursement is received. The reimbursement could then be used to pay back the loan.
More information about EIERA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund is available online.
Additional funding options may be available. Contact Catherine Jones of the BVCP at 573-526-8913 with any questions or for more information regarding funding options.
Get Started!
We’d love to help you bring a former dry cleaner back into productive use! Send in your Brownfield Assessment Application and Consent to Access Property Forms to get the ball rolling. Give use a call at 573-526-8913 or email us at missouribrownfields@dnr.mo.gov if you have any questions or would like additional information.