The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday announced a proposal to add the Georgetown North Groundwater site in Sussex County, Del. to the Superfund National Priorities List.
The Superfund National Priorities List, or NPL, is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for remedial cleanup action financed under the federal Superfund program.
According to EPA, President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund Remedial Program, allowing the EPA to clear the backlog of the 49 contaminated sites which had been awaiting funding to start remedial action.
Among those backlogged is the Georgetown North Groundwater site, a roughly one-square-mile section of commercial and residential zones, which EPA calls a groundwater plume or an area of groundwater that has been polluted by a contaminant release at a concentration above the laboratory reporting limit.
According to EPA, the site is contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, a solvent that comes from products used in dry-cleaning. EPA considers PCE as likely to be carcinogenic to humans.
The groundwater plume has two known former dry-cleaning sources, EPA said in a release Friday. Those sources are Georgetown Dry Cleaners and Thoro-Kleen Dry Cleaners. Plumes from these two facilities appear to have co-mingled and contributed to the contamination of municipal groundwater wells in Georgetown. There may also be other potential contributors to this plume which have not yet been fully investigated, EPA said.
The state of Delaware began their investigation into potential sources, according to EPA, when the water authority reported contaminants in the untreated water in 1985 and the state has previously conducted response actions at both the Georgetown Cleaners and Thoro-Kleen Dry Cleaners to remove storage tanks above and below ground.
However, the EPA said groundwater was not addressed during those tank removals.
In 2016, the state of Delaware reported the site to EPA in order to get help in understanding the extent of the contamination.
There will be a 60-day comment period from March 18 – May 17, 2022, where the public can comment on the listing of the Georgetown North Groundwater site. EPA will consider those comments in the final decision on listing the site on the NPL. EPA will also hold a public information session during the comment period to explain the Superfund process to the community.