(ESCAMBIA, COUNTY) --- A global shipbuilding company wants to build a 400,000-square-foot facility on the old Escambia Wood property, a site that has been on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list for decades.
Locally the site is known as "Mount Dioxin" because of years of wood treatment that left dioxin, arsenic, lead, benzene and creosote in the soil and groundwater.
(Photo Credit: Southern Voices for Change YouTube)
What Is A Superfund Site?
A Superfund site is a property the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified as contaminated with hazardous waste. The program was created in 1980 to clean up the nation’s most polluted places. Sites are placed on the National Priorities List and require long-term investigation, cleanup, and monitoring. The Escambia Wood site was added to the list in 1983.
Birdon America Inc. announced in January that it plans to open the facility at the Port of Pensacola. The city says the project would bring 2,000 jobs to the area. That includes 1,437 jobs with an average pay of $68,000 a year and 563 jobs averaging $112,000 a year.
Mayor D.C. Reeves called it a turning point for the city.
“There are moments in a city’s history that define trajectory for not just years but for generations, and I certainly think this is one of those days,” Reeves said, noting that Pensacola has had an active deepwater port since 1721.
The project was approved for a $76 million grant through Triumph Gulf Coast.
Triumph was created by the Legislature to manage 75% of Florida’s share of money recovered after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. By law, those funds must be used for economic recovery, job creation, and infrastructure in the eight disproportionately affected Gulf Coast counties.
Triumph funds can be used for construction and workforce training tied to new industry. The city says the Birdon grant will fund building construction on the port property. The city will retain ownership of the buildings and lease them to Birdon long-term.
Environmental questions remain about building on the site. The Escambia Wood property was added to the federal Superfund list after wood treatment operations contaminated soil and groundwater.
Any construction on a Superfund site must be reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make sure the work does not disturb contamination or spread it.
That has residents asking: Has the United States Environmental Protection Agency approved this new use of the property? If contamination is disturbed during construction, who pays for cleanup - Birdon, the City, the County, or taxpayers? What will be done to monitor air and water in nearby neighborhoods with the expected increase in truck traffic?
(Photo Credit: Pexels, Rasmus Undersea)
OpGovNews has requested water monitoring records for the site from both the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and is awaiting a response.
At a recent Emerald Coast Utilities Authority meeting, staff members said the utility does not monitor the well near the Escambia Wood property. However, the land is owned by Escambia County.
The promised number of jobs has also raised questions about workforce preparation. Mayor Reeves has pointed residents to the Workforce Summit for information.
It remains unclear where training for the positions would take place, who would pay for it, and how quickly an unemployed or underemployed worker could earn required certifications.
There are also questions about qualifications for the jobs, whether training can be done without leaving current employment, and if there will be measurable goals for local hiring.
With public money and infrastructure involved, community members have asked what steps are being taken to ensure current residents have access to the positions.
City officials say the lease agreement with Birdon will include environmental protections. The project is expected to break ground in late 2027.
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