OLATHE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of healthcare, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
—
An Olathe neighborhood sits next to a Superfund cleanup site, yet some homebuyers said they learned about the chemical contamination only after they purchased their homes.
In a sit-down interview with KSHB 41 Johnson County Reporter Elyse Schoenig, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 regional administrator Jim Macy said the EPA does not have a process for knowing when houses are sold, even when they are inside a cleanup site.
"There's no mechanism for property transactions that we would automatically know within the boundaries of this contaminated area that that event had happened," Macy said.
KSHB 41 Johnson County Reporters Elyse Schoenig and Isabella Ledonne first reported on the chemical contamination earlier in October.
The site, known today as Pollinator Prairie, was formerly home to Chemical Commodities Inc., a chemical broker and recycler that operated in Olathe from 1951 to 1989. The EPA confirmed the chemicals were not stored properly and leaked into the soil and groundwater.
Now, the federal agency oversees the vapor intrusion mitigation systems in the residential neighborhood and leads the cleanup efforts, still ongoing decades later. Airborne chemical contamination continues to be a concern.
The EPA is also looking to hold a dozen companies responsible for contributing to decades' worth of contamination that hasn't gone away.
One neighbor in the area said she did not learn about the contamination until after she bought her home.
"I've lived here since 1995. I was made aware of the Chemical Commodities...contamination shortly after I purchased this property," Julie Owens said.
The EPA said it has worked to notify residents over the years.
"We've been door to door over the last 20 years. We've written a lot of letters," Macy said.
There is a process in the metro where the home seller must disclose issues like this. The seller's disclosure agreement homebuyers have to sign includes Section 13, which outlines hazardous conditions. It asks whether a buyer is aware of toxic substances or contamination and aware of testing for any of these issues on the property.
If the seller knows about issues, they need to disclose them. If the seller's agent knows, they need to disclose it.
Some real estate agents also recommend buyers do their own research on the property.
You can scan the QR code or email our team of Johnson County reporters at johnsoncounty@kshb.com to get your questions answered.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
