The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program announced on March 17 the addition of 12 hazardous waste sites to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) and proposed adding five more sites with three-quarters of the sites involving groundwater contamination.
The NCP’s National Priorities List comprises hazardous waste sites with known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States.
Previously, there were 1333 sites on the NPL with about 80 percent involving groundwater contamination. The NPL guides the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These investigations allow the EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act-financed remedial actions, if any, may be appropriate.
Thirteen of the sites involve groundwater contamination with three sites having per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The EPA is adding the following sites to the NPL:
- Lower Neponset River, Boston/Milton, Massachusetts (groundwater threatened)
- Meeker Avenue Plume, Brooklyn, New York (groundwater contaminated)
- Bear Creek Sediments, Baltimore County, Maryland (stream sediments contaminated)
- Paden City Groundwater, Paden City, West Virginia (groundwater contaminated)
- Westside Lead, Atlanta, Georgia (soil contaminated)
- Galey and Lord Plant, Society Hill, South Carolina (groundwater contamination including PFOA [perfluorooctanoic acid], PFOS [perfluorooctane sulfonic acid])
- National Fireworks, Cordova, Tennessee (groundwater contaminated)
- North 5th Street Groundwater Contamination, Goshen, Indiana (groundwater contaminated)
- Michner Plating — Mechanic Street, Jackson, Michigan (groundwater contaminated including PFAS)
- Southeast Hennepin Area Groundwater and Vapor, Minneapolis, Minnesota (groundwater contaminated)
- Unity Auto Mart, Unity, Wisconsin (groundwater contaminated)
- Bradford Island, Cascade Locks, Oregon (coastal sediment contaminated).
The EPA is proposing to add the following sites to the NPL:
- Lower Hackensack River, Bergen and Hudson Counties, New Jersey (stream sediment contaminated)
- Brillo Landfill, Victory, New York (groundwater contaminated including PFAS)
- Georgetown North Groundwater, Georgetown, Delaware (groundwater contaminated)
- Hercules Inc, Hattiesburg, Mississippi (groundwater contaminated)
- Highway 3 PCE, Le Mars, Iowa (groundwater contaminated).
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NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education, and resources to the public and scientific communities. In 2017, NGWA published Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which was one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released. It can be found at NGWA.org/PFAS, which is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminants featuring a FAQs document, a top-10 facts sheet, a homeowner checklist, and more.
NGWA is also once again hosting a conference on this topic, Fate of PFAS: From Groundwater to Tap Water, June 21-22, 2022 in Westerville, Ohio.