JENNINGS, La. (AP) -- An abandoned industrial facility just northeast of Jennings has been proposed for listing as a federal Superfund site, a designation reserved for some of most difficult hazardous waste cleanups.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that the site of the old EVR-Wood Treating facility and the adjacent Evangeline Refining Company has been proposed for inclusion in the Superfund program.
The EPA said the land where the facilities once operated is contaminated with arsenic, chromium, copper and other hazardous substances that pose a threat to nearby wetlands and fisheries in area waterways.
Tom Harris, with the state Department of Environmental Quality's remediation division, tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/A0tS4J ) contamination at the site was documented several years ago, but the cleanup work will likely run "into the millions of dollars."