Eleven Point State Park Information Sheet
March 16, 2022
The funds used by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to purchase property along the Eleven Point River came from a bankruptcy settlement to compensate the public for loss of natural resource value resulting from former lead mining activities in southeast Missouri by the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO).
There were two separate awards of funds that came from the ASARCO bankruptcy settlement: remediation funds to be used to clean up the area of contamination to public health standards; and restoration funds to secure and restore natural resources equivalent to those damaged.
The purchase of the land comprising Eleven Point State Park, determined by the trustees to be an equivalent of the injured natural resource, came from restoration funds. The restoration award totaled $35,000,000 for compensation of past natural resource injury due to heavy metal contamination from lead mining. This restoration DOES NOT have to be at the site where the injury occurred, as those injured resources may not be able to be restored to their baseline condition. The trustees are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. (https://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/SEMONRDA/pdf/FrederickCreekRanchProposal23Dec2015.pdf)
The natural resource restoration funds should not be confused with the funds for remediation work administered by the EPA. The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) legislation and implementing regulations define restoration as activities to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the injured natural resource. (https://www.epa.gov/superfund/natural-resource-damages-primer)
The EPA was awarded $37,500,000 for the remediation of three sites in Southeast Missouri. The ongoing remediation is being administered by the EPA Superfund Program, responsible for cleanup of hazardous waste sites. The acts of remediation were specified in the ‘Settlement Agreement Regarding the Southeast Missouri (SEMO) Sites.’ Remediation includes actions such as removing contaminated soil from the lots of residents, etc., for the purpose of bringing contaminated areas into a condition deemed safe for human habitation. (https://www.epa.gov/mo/big-river-mine-tailings-national-priorities-list-npl-superfund-site-st-francois-countymissouri), (https://www.epa.gov/mo/madison-county-mines-national-priorities-list-npl-superfund-site-madisoncounty-missouri-fact-0)
Pursuant to financial agreements with the U.S. Department of Interior (“DOI”), any proceeds from the sale of the properties that were originally acquired through the use of natural resource damage funds must be returned to the DOI Restoration Account to be used by the DOI and the Department as co-trustees to fulfill the restoration objectives of CERCLA and the ASARCO LLC Settlement Agreement. (HB 1972 & HB 2483 Fiscal Note).
This fact sheet was put together by the Missouri Parks Association
Missouri Parks Association
Post Office Box 8531
Kansas City, Missouri 64114
www.missouriparksassociation.org
info@missouriparks.org