EPA enters agreement to sell Mississippi Phosphates plant in Pascagoula

The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice and the state Department of Environmental Quality are planning to enter an agreement to sell the former Mississippi Phosphates plant in Pascagoula.

Seven Seas Terminals plans to buy and redevelop the Superfund Site on Industrial Road as a dry bulk storage and tank terminal operation.

Mississippi Phosphates manufactured fertilizers at the facility from the late 1950s until it filed bankruptcy in 2014. The soil and groundwater on the property was contaminated by heavy metals, radium-226 and low pH. The EPA placed the site on the Superfund National Priorities List in January 2018 and is overseeing the ongoing cleanup.

Demolition and construction work will take several years, according to the EPA, but will create 25 to 30 jobs when it is finished.

As part of the purchase agreement, Seven Seas will remove — under EPA oversight — sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, diammonium phosphate plants and two bulk storage warehouses.

It also will install an impermeable cap as part of containment control for the proposed tank terminal and will test and remove, treat or contain any contaminated soil outside of the capped area — and pay EPA’s oversight costs.

Seven Seas will also allow the EPA to continue to have access to the water treatment plant, lab, shops and other equipment as needed to support EPA’s response action to other parts of the site. The agreement will provide Seven Seas with legal protections against Superfund liability for legacy contamination.