A former industrial site that underwent an extensive cleanup will
be awarded an Arkansas Brownfields Program Certificate of Completion on March 20, 2013 at 1 p.m.
The ceremony will take place at the Simmons Foods home office at 601 N. Hico St., Siloam Springs. The Simmons Food Inc. property, where the cleanup took place, is at 1700 E. Quarter Road. The 59-acre site was home to a number of industries since the 1960s. Most recently Syroco Inc. manufactured plastic chairs at the site in the 1990s. Simmons Food Inc. took title of the property in 2009. It is currently being used for storage.
The cleanup involved removing 14.7 tons of contaminated soil. The use of groundwater was restricted on the site and groundwater monitoring is ongoing. ADEQ provided technical assistance and oversight during the project.
The Arkansas Brownfields Program was established in 1995. Since then, a total of 72 locations around the state have been enrolled in the program, with 31 sites having been completed and certified for reuse. Other completed projects include the Heifer International Headquarters in Little Rock, the Martindale Clinic site in Hope and the Plainview Conoco Site in Plainview.
A brownfield is a parcel of property where commercial, industrial, or agricultural use may have contaminated the site with a hazardous substance, thereby complicating prospects for expansion, redevelopment, or reuse.
For more information on the Arkansas Brownfields Program visit http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/hazwaste/bf/default.htm
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