EPA to conduct investigations on contaminated Fifth Street site
Apr. 17—GOSHEN — Anyone hoping to share information with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about Goshen's North Fifth Street Groundwater Contamination Site will have their chance to speak next week.
As part of the standard process for the EPA's Superfund National Priorities List, the agency will conduct community interviews by appointment at the Goshen Public Library from April 23-25.
Goshen's North Wellfield was determined to have contamination in 2015, when a "plume of chlorinated solvents was found in the four municipal wells at the site," a press release from the city indicated.
"The groundwater contaminants found in the municipal wells are at levels below the Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Level, or MCL, and the groundwater is processed at the city's treatment plant in Goshen to ensure its safety before it is distributed to residents."
Water Superintendent Marv Shepherd said that the department tests consistently for contaminants, and the drinking water continues to test below maximum levels set by the EPA, but the city has been working with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the EPA to track the source of the contamination, seeking out potential federal funding for site clean-up.
According to the 2015 report, a form of dichloroethene (Cis-1,2-DCE), which can be a breakdown of trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene, which is used in dry cleaning and industrial degreasing activities, was found. The amount jumped from 1.3 parts per billion in 2013, to 4.8 parts per billion in 2016.
In September 2018, an article in The Goshen News noted that there is a slight chance that cis-1,2-DCE will break down into vinyl chloride, a different chemical which is believed to be more toxic
That month, crews with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management drilled five deep-sampling wells around the North Water Plant to garner water samples. IDEM identified almost 70 facilities within a mile of the Goshen North well field using chlorinated solvents but declared in March that they had not yet been able to identify the source of the groundwater contamination
As of 2021, EPA has collected economic data on 650 superfund sites. The sites include 10,230 businesses operating on the sites, 246,000 people employed, an estimated $18.6 billion in income earned by employees, and $65.8 billion in sales generated by businesses.
"The NPL includes the nation's most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination," a press release from the EPA in March 2022 said. "The list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup."
In September 2021, the city announced that it had requested the site be placed on the EPA's Superfund National Priorities List and in March 2022, the EPA announced its prioritization.
"Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities," the press release also said. "The program is credited for significant reductions in both birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24 percent within three miles of sites after cleanup."
"These community interviews are part of the EPA's process to ensure the Goshen community gets the information it needs about this site," said Adrian Palomeque, EPA Community Involvement coordinator.
Residents who would like to schedule a 30-minute one-on-one interview may contact EPA contractor Gavin Reynolds at 312-201-7466 or gavin.reynolds@tetratech.com. Interviews will be held at the Goshen Public Library, 601 S. Fifth St., between 5-7:30 p.m. April 23, and 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. April 24 and April 25.
Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.
