Former Naval Air Station Key West Wins 2021 Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award
KEY WEST, Fla. (May 13, 2021) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Former Naval Air Station Key West, Florida is one of four winners of the 2021 National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards. These awards highlight the significant accomplishments of federal agencies, states, tribes, local partners, and developers in restoring and reusing contaminated land at federal facilities.
“Our award winners are to be commended for the creative thinking, hard work, and cooperation that went into the impressive redevelopment projects we are recognizing today.” said Barry N. Breen, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. “Their work clearly shows that addressing contaminated properties in a way that aligns with the needs of the surrounding community leads to win-win solutions for both the environment and the economy.”
“EPA is honored to recognize Former Naval Air Station Key West with the National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award,” said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator John Blevins. “This project is a true testament to the success we can achieve by working cooperatively with our federal, state, and local partners to convert a contaminated site into an economic and community asset for Key West.”
The Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Awards cover four categories of contaminated land at federal facilities: (1) Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites, (2) Superfund NPL Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) sites, (3) non-NPL BRAC sites, and (4) non-NPL sites.
Former Naval Air Station Key West in Florida won the Non-National Priority List BRAC Award for excellence in re-use of a federal facility which is not a Superfund site. The former Naval Air Station Key West, also closed as part of the BRAC Act, was redeveloped into a park that includes an interactive water feature and playground, turnaround and transit stops for public transportation, amphitheater, multipurpose field, dog park, pedestrian promenade, and horse stables for the Key West mounted police. In addition, formerly used Navy housing now provides 212 low-income, affordable housing units and 106 assisted living facility units to the area.
Background
EPA has ongoing cleanup and property transfer responsibilities at 175 federal facility NPL sites, which are some of the largest and most complex sites within the national Superfund program. The Agency also promotes innovative, cost-effective cleanups at other federal facilities by working with federal agencies, tribes, state and local governments, and community representatives to ensure that facilities meet environmental standards and undergo redevelopment for both public and private-sector reuse. To recognize outstanding collaborative outcomes at federal facility sites, EPA created the National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse award.
This award can be given to project teams including federal agency project managers; developers; reuse authorities; or state, tribal and local partners who have demonstrated excellence in working cooperatively with EPA to ensure the reuse of a Federal Facility site complements the type of cleanup actions taken. Award winners have demonstrated excellence in:
- Working cooperatively and forming partnerships
- Complementing redevelopment design with the selected remedy
- Innovating beneficial use outcomes
- Considering the impacts on and inputs from the local community
- Creating jobs, fostering economic development or recreational opportunities, or supporting mission support
For more information about the 2021 awards, please visit www.epa.gov/fedfac/2021-national-federal-facility-excellence-site-reuse-awards
For more information about cleanups at federal facilities, please visit www.epa.gov/fedfac