About the Remedial Section

The primary goals of the Remedial Section are to protect and preserve one of the most important natural resources of our state - our water supply, both ground water and surface water, and to protect the human health and welfare of the citizens of Kansas, both current and future generations from environmental contamination.

The Remedial Section accomplishes these primary goals through various types of cleanup programs by working in a cooperative partnership with the public, industry and local government. The programs within the Section are responsible for the successful remediation of hundreds of environmentally contaminated properties and the provision of safe-drinking water to citizens and communities with contaminated water supplies in Kansas.

The programs within the Remedial Section includes the assessment, investigation, cleanup and monitoring of state-lead contaminated sites, voluntary sites, orphan sites, brownfields sites and state-lead federal Superfund sites throughout Kansas.

The Remedial Section is responsible for the assessment, investigation, cleanup and monitoring of state-lead contaminated sites, voluntary sites, orphan sites and state-lead federal Superfund sites throughout Kansas. Potentially contaminated sites that are reported to the Remedial Section by individuals, businesses, governmental entities or others are inspected to assess the immediate and long-term health and environmental risks. If the site poses an immediate threat to human health or the environment, emergency response actions are performed. If a contaminated site is determined to pose a threat to human health or the environment, an investigation is conducted to characterize the magnitude and extent of contamination, and to evaluate whether remediation may be necessary.

Remediation at contaminated sites may involve removal actions (excavation of soil, drum removal), on-site cleanup, off-site treatment and/or containment (capping, hydraulic control) of the identified contamination. Threats to human health can be addressed through providing alternate drinking water supplies (bottled water, in-house filters, connection to an unimpacted public water supply), source removal and containment systems.

The Remedial Section encourages the party/(ies) responsible for the contamination to work in a cooperative manner with the department to achieve an appropriate cleanup. Generally, an agreement may be negotiated between the department and the responsible party/(ies) regarding investigation and possible cleanup at the site. However, when a responsible party/(ies) cannot be identified, cannot bear the financial burden of cleanup or is recalcitrant, the section can seek appropriate federal funding through Superfund or other funding sources to investigate and clean up the contamination problem.

The Remedial Section is responsible for:

• The Site Assessment Program
• The State Cooperative Program (SCP)
• The Voluntary Cleanup and Property Redevelopment Program (VCPRP)
• The State Water Plan and Brownfields Targeted Assessment and Restoration Programs (State Response and Property Development Unit)
• The Environmental Use Control Program (Restoration and Long-Term Stewardship Unit)