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EPA Proposes to Remove Portion of Tempe, Ariz. Site From Superfund List, Seeks Public Comment

Release Date: 3/3/2003
Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez

     SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on its proposal to remove a portion of the South Indian Bend Wash Superfund site in Tempe, Ariz. from the National Priorities List.
The EPA and the state of Arizona have determined that no further cleanup activities are necessary to protect human health and the environment on the areas proposed for deletion. The soil on the properties, as well as groundwater with concentrations of trichloroethane (TCE), at less than five parts per billion are being proposed for deletion.
Properties proposed for removal from the NPL include the former Allstate Mine Supply subsite, the Maricopa County Landfill, the Old Tempe Landfill, the Resources Reclamation Corporation of America Landfill, the First Street Landfill and the Bennett Family Trust Landfill. The properties are part of a redevelopment project within Tempe.
"This action is an excellent example of positive interaction between the EPA, the state of Arizona and the local community," said Keith Takata, the EPA's Superfund director for the Pacific Southwest office. "The EPA has worked diligently with the ADEQ and the city to facilitate the partial deletion of this site and support the redevelopment efforts of the city of Tempe."
The property became a Superfund site in 1983 after industrial solvents used by numerous facilities within the city of Tempe contaminated the groundwater with volatile organic compounds, primarily TCE and perchloroethane, or PCE.
The removal of this portion of the site from the Superfund list does not rule out future cleanup actions.
Detailed information regarding the South Indian Bend Wash site is available at:
Tempe Public Library EPA Region 9 Superfund Records Center
3500 South Rural Road 95 Hawthorne Street
Tempe, AZ 85282 San Francisco, CA 94105
(480) 350-5577 (415)536-2000
For questions regarding the proposed deletion, please contact Melissa Pennington at (415)972-3153 or (800)231-3075.

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