.s^0St% I1 mm 5 NM/7 S Iowa O M © 5S&-7 Fact Sheet * Kansas Missouri \ PRQt^0 Nebraska September 2004 Community Meeting to Discuss Next Steps River Valley Ground Water Contamination Site, North Platte, Nebraska INTRODUCTION The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 will hold a community meeting to discuss the next steps to be taken at the River Valley Ground Water Contamination Site in North Platte. The meeting will be held Tuesday, October 5, 2004 at the North Platte City Council Chambers. EPA, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ), and Nebraska Health and Human Services (NHHS) will be available to answer questions. SUPERFUND PROGRAM Congress established the Superfund program in 1980 in response to growing concerns over human health and environmental risks posed by hazardous waste sites. Superfund locates, investigates and cleans up hazardous waste sites. SITE ACTIVITIES Sampling was performed the week of June 21, as part of a removal assessment that looked for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). EPA worked closely with the state of Nebraska and the City of North Platte to conduct this effort. The area sampled covered most of the city of North Platte. Sample results showed most of the private drinking water wells were clear of any contamination. However, some wells showed high levels of VOCs. This area is generally north of 4th Street (Hwy 30) and east of Popular Street (Hwy 83), extending out to the city limits on the north and east. EPA will send the results of laboratory testing of these samples to all residents that were sampled. For residents who have wells with VOCs in excess of the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act maximum contaminant level, EPA will work with the city, state, and the homeowner to determine the best strategy for preventing exposure to the contamination. Community Meeting: River Valley Ground Water Contamination EPA and NDEQ invite you to attend a community meeting on the River Valley Ground Water Contamination Site. Staff members will discuss next steps, and answer questions, one-on-one. The meeting will be Tuesday, October 5, 2003, 5:00p.m. - 7:00p.m. at the City Council Chambers 601 W. State Farm Road North Platte, Nebraska For more information, contact Beckie Himes Community Involvement Coordinator 1-800-223-0425 himes.beckie@epa.gov ------- In addition, EPA will conduct a second sampling effort in the area where contamination was found to determine whether or not other residences have been impacted. SITE BACKGROUND A Nebraska Department of Health public water supply sampling program (1988) initially detected volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination in some of the seventeen municipal wells that serve the City of North Platte. Since then, several VOCs have been identified in groundwater samples collected during subsequent site investigations, including an EPA investigation in 2002. That investigation confirmed the detection of PCE in soil at one location, and that the groundwater had been impacted by VOC contamination beneath the site. FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on this Fact Sheet or the Site, please contact: Beckie Himes Community Involvement Coordinator U.S. EPA 901 N. 5th Street Kansas City, Kansas 66101 Phone: 913/551-7003 or Toll free: 1-800-223-0425 himes.beckie@epa.gov The chemicals present at the site include tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), and other VOCs. PCE and TCE are the only VOCs to have been detected above EPA Safe Drinking Water Act maximum contaminant level. CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS The focus of the June sampling effort was on private wells, as opposed to the municipal wells that were been sampled in the past. The sampling was intended to determine whether or not the contamination found in the municipal wells previously has also occurred in private drinking water wells. Since the sampling results showed contamination in several private drinking water wells, EPA will work with City officials to ensure that citizens are protected from exposure to this contamination. In addition, a second sampling effort will be conducted to find additional private drinking water wells that may be contaminated, and to determine the extent of the contamination in the area previously sampled. -2- ------- |