West Meadows is planned as a public amenity and natural retreat within center city to function as stormwater management for the entire Jordan Creek watershed with a restored and enhanced Jordan Creek riparian corridor as part of the US Corps of Engineers project, wetlands, habitat restoration, and greenway trails. The June 2008 Phase I Update was performed to meet environmental due diligence requirements related to the prospective donation of the property from the BNSF Railway Company to the City. The Phase II in August 2008 identified a number of contaminants above MDNR standards, including petroleum, lead, arsenic, and PAHs. A Tier 1 Risk Assessment has been submitted to MDNR for review and approval. A fence that prohibits access to the property for public safety was installed in the Spring of 2009. An Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives was drafted on October 9, 2009 as noted above as Cleanup Start Date and approved by EPA approved: 2/2/10. The ABCA has been posted on the website posted November, 2009 for public comment and will continue to be posted until the Cleanup Plan/Remedial Design Plan is produced. The ABCA has also been distributed to the Jordan Valley Staff Team and the Jordan Valley Advisory Committee for comments. A public meeting was held on December 10, 2009 to present the ABCA and solicit comments. Approximately 50 people attended the meeting and a presentation was given by the Brownfields Coordinator and Terracon regarding the ABCA. The US Department of Agriculture NRCS completed a topographic survey of all 8 sites within West Meadows, valued at 2,500 dollars. This was used by Kansas State University to develop a landscape plan for the entire West Meadows, and will be used by Terracon to develop the remedial design plan. The landscape plan is valued at over 10,000 dollars and will be completed in February 2010. October 21, 2009, the West Meadows site, including site 2, was accepted into the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program BVCP. The City of Springfield, MO used Federal Railway Administration Grant money in the amount of 1,200 dollars to apply for and be enrolled into the program. Desired scheduling is to complete the cleanup/remedial design plan and go out to bid for the site work in Spring 2010. The property has been transferred to Ozark Greenways, who will be applying for an RLF subgrant to fund cleanup on this site.
Former Use: Jordan Valley West Meadows Site 2 is located immediately west of Site 1 and the Butler-Rosenbury parking lot at 319 N. Main, and extends west to the eastern boundary of Site 3. The property was acquired by the City of Springfield through a donation by Burlington Northern Railroad Holdings, Inc. on November 14, 2008. Ozark Greenways recently acquired the property from the City of Springfield. Based on review of the historical information, previous use of the site consisted of a railroad maintenance facility from at least 1896 to the late 1950s with the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad Company and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company Car Shops. By 1960, the majority of the site structures had been removed and the site appeared graded. By 2001, the majority of the site was graded with some vegetative cover. The following structures and areas were identified on this site and on the immediate surrounding area during its occupancy by the railroad maintenance yard: storage of engines, two transfer tables, machine shop, machine shop with electric motor, scrap house, boiler shop, boiler shop with two oil tanks, erecting shop/annex, paint shop, wood working, wood working with electric motor and air compressor room, office, water closets, fan house with hot air dry kilns, �scattered piles of lumber, timber, and iron,� lumber yard, lumber warehouse, cab shop, coach erecting shop, �planing� mill, lime house, a concrete reservoir and two pump houses, car shop, tin shop, bolt house, brass house, welding, rail sand, s