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Region 8

Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 27 Tribal Nations

Superfund Program


   

National Priorities List (NPL) History

Proposed Date
3/07/2007

Final Date
9/19/2007

Five Points PCE Plume

Site Type: Active NPL
City: Woods Cross, UT
County: Davis
Street Address: approximately 1500 S. State Street and State Highway 106
Zip Code: 84010
EPA ID #: UTN000802654
SSID: 08NA
Site Aliases: Bountiful 5 Points PCE Plume


 Site Status & Updates

  • Work began on the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study in 2008.
  • After a 60-day comment period, on Sept. 19, 2007, Five Points PCE Plume was placed on the final National Priorities List (NPL).
  • During the summer of 2007, contaminated soil and an underground storage tank were removed from the property of Your Valet Cleaners.
  • The Site was proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) in the Federal Register on March 7, 2007.

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 Site Description

The Five Points PCE Plume Site (Five Points) is an area of groundwater contamination that exists below ground level. The groundwater plume is located approximately at the intersection of 1500 South and State Highway 106, extending to the west-northwest. The location of the plume, based on current information, lies primarily under the city of Woods Cross.

The site consists of a groundwater plume of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) -- sometimes called perchloroethylene (PERC) -- that is used as a dry cleaning agent or metal degreaser. Woods Cross has four municipal water wells that provide drinking water to the community of 9,795 people. Two of these four wells are contaminated with PCE. One of the wells consistently shows PCE levels exceeding the safe drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion (ppb). This well provides over 33% of Wood Cross city's water supply and has been shut down since February 1999 because of PCE contamination. The other affected well containing PCE shows levels below the safe drinking water standard.

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 Site Risk

Media Affected Contaminants Source of Contamination
Groundwater Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), also known as Perchloroethylene (PERC) Unknown

The contaminant of concern is tetrachloroethylene (PCE), primarily used in the dry cleaning process and as a metal degreaser. Another name for the substance that is frequently used by those in the dry cleaning business is perchloroethylene (PERC). PCE is found in the groundwater, but the drinking water in this area is municipal water which meets the Safe Drinking Water Standard. Woods Cross monitors this water regularly.

Two of the four wells Woods Cross City uses to supply drinking water to its citizens are contaminated with PCE. One of these wells is no longer pumping water, but will be needed in the next few years to help meet increased demand.. The other affected well contains PCE levels below the safe drinking water standard. It is possible that concentrations of PCE will increase over time if the groundwater contamination is not addressed. Placing the site on the NPL list allows EPA to address this situation before conditions deteriorate.

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 Cleanup Progress

Early in 2008, UDEQ assumed the lead on this site. Work began on the Remedial Investigation (RI) in 2008. During the RI, the extent, or boundaries, of the plume will be identified and what source(s) might be contributing to the contamination in the groundwater.

EPA's Removal program worked with a nearby dry cleaner during the summer of 2007 to remove an old underground storage structure that contained PCE. This action only partially addressed the source of contamination. This action does not address the contaminated groundwater.

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 Community Involvement

Throughout the cleanup process, Superfund law requires that stakeholders and the community be given every opportunity to have meaningful input on how the plume is cleaned up. First, a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) is prepared acknowledging any concerns or issues the community and other stakeholders may have. The CIP outlines how EPA and UDEQ will communicate with the public about future work, opportunities for commenting on decisions, and other pertinent information. Some methods used for communicating with the public include: fact sheets, public notices, public meetings, press releases and a web page.

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 Site Documents

Note: the following document is an Adobe Acrobat PDF file
About PDF files

Five Points PCE Plume Fact Sheet, February 2007 (PDF, 2 pp, 123K)

Narrative Summary (PDF, 1 page 63K)

Proposal Timeline (PDF, 1 page, 12K)

Comment directions for HRS package March 7-May 7, 2007 (PDF, 1 page, 13K)

HRS Package (PDF, 17 pp, 252K)

Groundwater Policy for Landowners above Plumes (PDF, 10 pp, 1 MB)

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 Contacts

EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1595 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO 80202-1129

Sam Garcia, Project Manager
1-800-227-8917 ext. 6247
E-mail: garcia.sam@epa.gov

Karen Edson
Community Involvement Coordinator
1-800-227-8917 ext. 6136
E-mail: edson.karen@epa.gov

Utah

Utah Department of Environmental Quality
168 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84114 - 4801

Tony Howes, Project Manager
801-536-4283
E-mail: thowes@utah.gov

Dave Allison
Community Involvement Coordinator
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
801-536-4479
E-mail: dallison@utah.gov


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