Midland County site may be placed on Superfund; Polluters being sought (TX)
According to this report from Midland Reporter-Telegram (TX), the Midessa Ground Water Plume may soon be added to the Superfund list:
Note: Though EPA's website is light on details, it tell us that PCE was detected in wells at concentrations as high as 1200ppb. Like TCE, the federal action level for PCE in water wells is 5ppb. As though this wasn't bad enough, there were 3 other toxins found in these wells, including TCE (at what levels, the EPA does not say). Perhaps more revealing, however, is EPA's note that:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking for a responsible party or parties in west Midland County groundwater contamination and will make them pay for the cleanup if they are found, an EPA official says.Read the full story here.
Remedial Project Manager Vince Malott of Dallas said the public comment period ended in November and his agency may put the project on its national "Superfund" list in late March or April.
"We have an enforcement officer working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on potential leads to where the (contamination) source originated," Malott said on Monday. "We're still searching for the likely source and don't have a lead we can announce.
"Once we get to that point, we will send the responsible party a notice and give them an opportunity to reply. We're avoiding using taxpayers' dollars if we can find viable financially responsible partners."
[...]
When the situation was first announced in September, [well] water was reported to contain MCLs of dichloroethene, trichloroethene, dichlorothane and tetrachloroethene -- all solvents that possibly had been used for degreasing or breakdown products disposed of unsafely.
TCEQ said the water supplies of 168 people were contaminated, including residents of Midessa Oilpatch RV Park and private wells just east of the Midland-Ector County line.
Note: Though EPA's website is light on details, it tell us that PCE was detected in wells at concentrations as high as 1200ppb. Like TCE, the federal action level for PCE in water wells is 5ppb. As though this wasn't bad enough, there were 3 other toxins found in these wells, including TCE (at what levels, the EPA does not say). Perhaps more revealing, however, is EPA's note that:
There is no muncipal city water supply available to this rural sector of Midland county currently, or for the foreseable future. TCEQ has not yet defined the outer boundary of the plume.Makes us wonder what the affected residents are drinking, bathing, and cooking with. Then there's the question of how safe their air is. With significantly elevated levels of toxins running underground and seeping into wells, surely vapor intrusion must be a concern. What are the chances residents have been warned?