DOVER – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it will propose the Newark South Ground Water Plume Site for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL). The listing in the Federal Register will allow EPA to use Superfund authority and resources to work with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to help resolve ground water concerns in the Newark area and determine the sources of contamination there.

“We are pleased that EPA’s proposed National Priorities Listing for the Newark South Ground Water Plume site enables us to further our efforts to better understand the extent of ground water contamination in the Newark area,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We continue partnering with EPA to address historical contamination in the area as we work to protect and restore Delaware’s precious ground water resources.”

The Newark South Ground Water Plume Site encompasses an area of southeast Newark along Route 72 between Interstate 95 and Route 4 (East Chestnut Hill Road) in New Castle County. Working with 20 years’ environmental awareness of the site, the City of Newark, DNREC and the Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health Office of Drinking Water (DPH ODW) successfully maintain a safe drinking water supply for the city.

Cleanups at NPL sites are financed under the Federal Superfund program. Once a site is proposed for potential listing in the Federal Register, a 60-day public comment period on the proposed listing ensues. If comments do not affect EPA’s scoring of the site using EPA’s Hazard Ranking System, the site is eligible for listing on the National Priorities List.

The City of Newark has six municipal wells located in the area where ground water has been impacted by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – organic compounds found in some industrial and commercial products that can cause adverse human health effects. Newark’s ground water is treated by the city to remove VOCs from the water supply, enabling the water to continue meeting both federal and the more stringent state safe drinking water standards.

The source of the ground water contamination at the South Newark Ground Water Plume Site has not been identified. DNREC requested EPA’s assistance to help fully investigate the site and identify the sources of the VOCs contaminating the ground water. The proposed NPL listing by EPA will provide federal funding and resources for additional investigation at the Newark South Ground Water Site, including identification of possible responsible parties for the contamination. The listing comes at a time when Delaware’s Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) fund has been reduced significantly, limiting DNREC investigations.

EPA will also hold a public information session and presentation on the NPL proposal Tuesday, Aug. 15, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Newark Senior Center, 200 White Chapel Drive, Newark, DE 19713. A formal presentation will begin at 7 p.m. The session will provide residents with information about the Newark South Ground Water Plume Site, the EPA’s Superfund process, and guidance on how to submit comments on the proposal.

For more information, please visit DNREC’s Newark South Ground Water Plume Site webpage. Additionally, contact can be made with following DNREC, EPA and City of Newark representatives about the site:

– For more information about DNREC’s remedial investigations and cleanups in the Newark South Well Field area, please visit: http://www.nav.dnrec.delaware.gov/DEN3/ or contact:
Christina Wirtz
DNREC Division of Waste & Hazardous Substances
302-395-2600
Email: Christina.Wirtz@delaware.gov

– For more information about EPA’s Superfund program and the NPL, please visit:
https://www.epa.gov/superfund or contact:
Roy Seneca
Office of Communications and Government Relations
U.S. EPA, Region 3
215-814-5567
Email: mailto:Seneca.roy@epa.gov

– For more information about the City of Newark’s drinking water supply and treatment system, please visit: http://www.cityofnewarkde.us/water, or contact:
Kelly Bachman
Communications Manager
City of Newark
302-366-7035
kbachman@newark.de.us

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 173

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