In 1946, the US contracted a company to demolish 5400 surplus World War II airplanes. The process involved an aluminum smelting operation. It produced a waste material called dross. It was left on site either buried in shallow pits or in surface mounds.
In 1991, the US EPA investigated the site and determined that the dross should be remediated. The US Army Corps of Engineers remediated the site in 2000. They excavated all of the dross material and placed it in eight pits with an asphalt cap. The asphalt cap began to show signs of failure soon after. In 2006, the US Army Corps of Engineers investigated the cap failure. They issued a report in 2010 explaining the options to fix the issues. Both the City and KAA demanded the US Army Corps of Engineers to remediate the site again. They refused.
In 2013, as the property owners, the City filed an action against the US Army Corps of Engineers seeking declaratory and injunctive relief requiring them to abate an imminent and substantial endangerment to health. KAA joined the litigation as well.
April of 2016, the Court entered a partial consent decree in which the US agreed to pay the investigation costs to determine the nature and volume of the dross material. We are in the process of negotiating the final consent decree requiring the US to remove of all dross material from the site. It is expected to cost in excess of $30 million.