Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Opens Water Treatment Facility in Las Cruces

Press release:

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Opens Water Treatment Facility in Las Cruces

(DALLAS – August 23, 2012) During a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning, officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County and the New Mexico Environment Department celebrated the opening of a water treatment facility in Las Cruces to remove contaminants from groundwater.

The new facility will remove the chemical perchloroethylene, commonly known as PCE, from groundwater in the area known as the Griggs and Walnut Groundwater Plume Superfund site. PCE is a man-made substance widely used for dry cleaning fabrics and textiles and for metal degreasing operations.

“Many people have worked together over several years to make this milestone possible,” said Sam Coleman, Acting Regional Administrator for EPA Region 6. “Because of their cooperation, creativity and dedication, the people of Las Cruces have a reliable, safe supply of drinking water.”

“This groundwater cleanup project is another example of how the City of Las Cruces is committed to the health and safety of its residents,” said Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima.

Doña Ana County Commission Chairwoman Karen G. Perez said, “I’m proud of the work that’s been done to bring this project to fruition. It’s been a remarkable collaborative effort on behalf of the many people who rely on safe, clean groundwater here in the City of Las Cruces.”

The Griggs and Walnut Groundwater Plume site is centered near the intersection of Griggs Avenue and Walnut Street within the City of Las Cruces and is approximately 1.8 mile by one-half mile in size. Four municipal drinking water supply wells were impacted by the site but through the city’s blending programs, PCE levels were kept below the maximum contaminant level established by the Safe Drinking Water Act or taken off line. No customer was ever delivered water with PCE amounts that exceeded federal standards. Wells 18 and 27 are being utilized to treat the plume, and the other two wells are used to monitor for PCE and other contaminants.

The water treatment facility will utilize an air stripper to expose contaminated groundwater to oxygen which dissipates the PCE. The cleansed water is then suitable for drinking. The $5.2 million project to date is jointly funded by the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

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Kellwood Company Agrees to Conduct Cleanup at the Riverfront Superfund Site in New Haven, Mo.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

Kellwood Company Agrees to Conduct Cleanup at the Riverfront Superfund Site in New Haven, Mo.

Contact Information: Ben Washburn, 913-551-7364, washburn.ben@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., July 10, 2012) - Kellwood Company has entered into a settlement with EPA and the State of Missouri, to clean up contamination associated with its former metal fabrication plant in New Haven, Mo.

The settlement requires Kellwood to clean up soils and ground water contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, also known as PCE, a common industrial degreaser, at what is known as the Riverfront Superfund Site, Operable Units 2 and 6. Kellwood has also agreed to pay past and future response costs incurred by EPA and the State of Missouri associated with those two Operable Units (OUs).

“The signed agreement reflects the commitment EPA has to holding polluters accountable for their actions in order to protect human health and the environment,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks said. “I commend Kellwood for voluntarily entering into this agreement and taking responsibility for their past actions in the community of New Haven.”

The Riverfront Superfund Site was listed on EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 2000 and consists of six Operable Units. Operable Unit 2 is the site of a former metal fabrication plant, owned and operated by Kellwood from approximately 1973 until 1985. Operable Unit 6 is the ground water contaminant plume emanating from OU 2 which has contaminated residential drinking water wells in the area. Kellwood has supplied whole house water filtration systems for the affected homes.

In 2011, EPA issued a Record of Decision setting forth the remedial actions to be taken at OUs 2 and 6.

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News Release from EPA Region 2

EPA Proposes To Add an Area of Orange and West Orange, N.J. to the Superfund List

Protecting Drinking Water EPA Priority

Contacts: Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – March 13, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed adding the Orange Valley Regional Ground Water site in Orange and West Orange, New Jersey to its Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Ground water under the site, which includes heavily populated urban and suburban areas of Orange and West Orange, is contaminated with the chemicals tetrachloroethylene or PCE, trichloroethylene or TCE and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene. Exposure to PCE, TCE and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene, which are common industrial solvents, can have serious effects on people’s health including liver damage and an increased risk of cancer. The ground water contamination has impacted public wells used to supply drinking water to local residents. Some of the wells have been taken out of service and water from others is treated to remove the contamination and provide the community with water that is safe to drink.

“Ensuring that people have a safe source of drinking water is essential to protecting public health and is an EPA priority,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “By placing the Orange Valley Ground Water site on the Superfund list, EPA can do the extensive sampling needed to find the best ways to address the contamination and protect people’s health.”

The ground water pollution has impacted several public water supply wells. The Orange Park and Gist Place wells serve a combined population of more than 10,000 people. After discovering the contamination in the early 1980s, the Orange Water Department installed a treatment system on the wells to remove the contaminants and provide the community with safe drinking water. Water from these wells is regularly monitored to ensure that the treatment system is effective and that people’s health continues to be protected. The former Brook Lane public supply well, which is located between the Orange Park and Gist Place wells, was taken out of service to protect the public from the contamination.

In 2011, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection asked EPA to consider the Orange Valley Regional Ground Water site for inclusion on the federal Superfund list. EPA conducted an initial assessment and is today proposing that the site be included on the list. The EPA is continuing its investigation to identify sources of the ground water contamination.

Nationwide, EPA is proposing to add 10 other sites to the Superfund list today and is designating nine others as final on the list.

With the proposal of this site to the Superfund list, a 60-day comment period will begin during which the EPA is soliciting public input on this proposed action. For instructions on how to submit comments, go to: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/pubcom.htm.

For the Federal Register notice and supporting documents on the proposed Superfund listing, on the day of publication, visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm. Comments can be submitted, identified by Docket number EPA-HQ-SFUND-2011-0068, by one of the following methods:

· Online: http://www.regulations.gov - Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

· Email: superfund.docket@epa.gov

Mail: Mail comments (no facsimiles or tapes) to Docket Coordinator, Headquarters; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CERCLA Docket Office; (Mail Code 5305T); 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Washington, DC 20460

Hand Delivery or Express Mail: Send comments (no facsimiles or tapes) to Docket Coordinator, Headquarters; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CERCLA Docket Office; 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW; EPA West, Room 3334, Washington, DC 20004. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket’s normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays).

For more information on the Superfund listing process, visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm or contact Ildefonso Acosta, Region 2 NPL Coordinator, at 212-637-4344, acosta.ildefonso@epa.gov.

For more information on Superfund, go to http://www.epa.gov/superfund/.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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News Release from EPA

EPA Adds Corozal Well Site in Corozal, Puerto Rico

to the Superfund List

  

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov or Brenda Reyes, 787-977-5869, reyes.brenda@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – March 13, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has added the Corozal Well site in Barrio Palos Blancos, Corozal, Puerto Rico to its Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Sampling at the site, which is in a rural area near the municipalities of Corozal and Naranjito, found that the chemical tetrachloroethylene or PCE is contaminating a well used to supply drinking water to local residents. Exposure to PCE, a solvent commonly used in industrial processes, can have serious effects of people’s health including liver damage and an increased risk of cancer. After discovering the contamination in 2010, the Puerto Rico Department of Health ordered the well closed. In March 2011, the EPA installed a treatment system on the well to remove the contaminants and provide the community with water that is safe to drink.

  

“Ensuring that people have a safe source of drinking water is essential to protecting public health and is an EPA priority,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “By placing the Corozal Well site on the Superfund list, the EPA can do the extensive sampling needed to find the best ways to address the contamination and protect people’s health.”

The Corozal well, known locally as the Santana well, serves a small, rural population that is not connected to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority public water supply system. Ground water samples collected in 2010 and 2011 confirmed the presence of PCE in the well. The EPA has not yet identified the source of the ground water contamination.

Nationwide, EPA is proposing to add 10 other sites to the Superfund list today and is designating nine others as final on the list. The EPA periodically proposes sites to the Superfund list and, after responding to public comments, designates them as final Superfund sites. The Superfund final designation makes them eligible for funds to conduct long-term cleanups. The Corozal Well site is now designated as final on the Superfund list.

The EPA does an extensive search to identify and locate the parties potentially responsible for the contamination at all sites on the Superfund list. The agency requires responsible parties to pay for or perform the cleanup work with EPA oversight. The majority of Superfund cleanups are performed by or paid for by polluters. Taxpayer dollars are used to cover EPA cleanup costs when no responsible party can be identified.

For more information, visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.

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