EPA News Release:

EPA Finalizes Cleanup Plan to Address Additional Contaminated Groundwater in the Olean Well Field Superfund Site in Cattaraugus County, New York

Contact: Michael Basile, basile.mchael@epa.gov, 646-369-0055

NEW YORK (October 4, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its plan to inject non-toxic materials into constructed wells to break down the hazardous contamination in groundwater across several areas south of the former AVX Corporation (AVX) property at the Olean Well Field Superfund site in Olean, New York.

"Using this technique, EPA will speed up the groundwater cleanup by utilizing in-situ treatment, which uses various minerals and bacteria to spur the decontamination of harmful compounds found in contaminated groundwater,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. "In this case, EPA can use nature to help prod things along; at the same time, we continue to monitor to make sure the technology works."

The cleanup technique method supplements the natural process of breaking down the contamination over time. The cleanup includes long-term monitoring to ensure the cleanup is working as intended.

The Olean Well Field Superfund site contains various wells, homes, and manufacturing facilities. Earlier industrial operations at the AVX property, as well as three other facilities that EPA considers sources of site contamination, resulted in the contamination of soil and groundwater with trichloroethylene, 1,4-dioxane, and other volatile organic compounds. The contaminants migrated from the AVX property in groundwater south of the AVX property. As a result of the contamination at all four facilities, EPA added the site to the Superfund list in 1983. Since that time, several investigations led to cleanup remedies for the four source facilities and nearby impacted groundwater, most of which are being implemented by potentially responsible parties for the site.

On July 15, 2022, EPA proposed this cleanup plan to the public and held a public meeting at the Cattaraugus County Campus of Jamestown Community College on July 27, 2022, to explain the plan and take comments. The Record of Decision released today addresses the comments received and formalizes EPA’s selected cleanup plan.

Visit the Olean Well Field Superfund site profile page for additional background and to view the Record of Decision.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter and visit our Facebook page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website.

22-077