SURF advances $1 million EPA Brownfields grant to remove asbestos
SURF continues work on a $1 million Brownfields Multipurpose Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess and remediate asbestos in multiple historic buildings.
Pick any historic building in the United States, and you are likely to find asbestos — the product was widely used for decades in everything from floor tiles to pipe insulation; the historic buildings at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) are no exception.
SURF has current and planned experiments that will run well into the second half of this century (and likely beyond). This requires a long-term vision for the property, and when it comes to any major work to remodel or repurpose a historic building, dealing with asbestos is often the first step.
“Abating asbestos is not really exciting. The exciting thing is thinking about the future projects that this could enable down the road,” said Pam Hamilton, a project manager at SURF.
The Institute for Underground Science at SURF might someday like to add a building on SURF property along Ellison Street — the timeline is contingent on a robust private fundraising campaign. Plans could also include a new access road to the Yates Campus and revitalization or repurposing of historic buildings in the area. These projects depend on the safe removal of asbestos from the existing structures.
In 2024, the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority received a $1 million Brownfields Multipurpose EPA Grant funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The grant supports efforts to assess, clean up, and revitalize buildings along the Ellison Corridor at SURF.
Some of the buildings along Ellison Road at SURF.
Photo by Stephen Kenny
Because asbestos is carcinogenic and hazardous to human health, assessment and removal require trained environmental professionals. SURF began implementing the grant in fall 2025 by selecting Stantec Consulting Services Inc. as the project consultant.
“Stantec, in this role, is called our qualified environmental professional. They are consultants who are coming in and helping us get a firm grasp of exactly what asbestos is in these areas,” Hamilton said.
Site assessments and building surveys are expected to continue through summer 2026. After assessments are complete, SURF will solicit bids for a contractor to perform the abatement work.
“Once we get all that assessment done and the contract in place, the abatement itself will go relatively fast,” Hamilton added.
Community members can learn more about continuing cleanup and reuse efforts for the historic SURF properties at a special booth that will be set up at Neutrino Day on July 11, 2026, in Lead.