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EPA Deletes the Katonah Municipal Well Superfund Site in Westchester County from the National List of Hazardous Waste Sites

Release Date: 04/18/2000
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(#00066) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has deleted the Katonah Municipal Well Superfund site in Westchester County from the National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites because the cleanup system is in place at the site, making it no longer a threat to human health and the environment. The Katonah site joins 13 other federal Superfund sites in New York State that EPA has deleted from the NPL since the Superfund program began. There are now 85 NPL sites in the state. "Thanks to the federal Superfund program and timely cooperation and assistance from the Town of Bedford, the Village of Katonah has had a safe and reliable drinking water supply since 1993 and contamination in the aquifer has been contained," said EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox. "In addition to the NPL sites deleted from the list statewide, there are 25 other federal Superfund sites in New York where EPA has completed hazardous waste cleanups," Ms. Fox added. The Westchester County Department of Health (WCDOH) first discovered chemical contamination in the Katonah Municipal Well in 1978. The primary chemical found was tetrachloroethyelene and the well was taken out of service. An alternate public water supply was provided for the affected residents. In 1979, the contamination was linked to four dry-cleaning operations discharging process liquids into individual septic systems, from which the chemicals were released and migrated to the municipal well. Maintenance activities at the nearby pump house for the municipal well, which was part of the Bedford Water and Storage System, also contributed to contamination of the groundwater. In addition, the area surrounding the well and pumphouse had been historically used for the disposal of street cleaning debris. WCDOH worked with the dry cleaners to modify their disposal practices and remove the sources of contamination in the septic tanks. The Katonah Municipal Well Superfund site was placed on the NPL in 1984. In 1987, EPA selected a cleanup plan for the site which included the following actions: * installing a new Katonah Municipal Well, and filling and sealing the existing abandoned public well; * installing and operating a water treatment facility, which included both an air stripper and disinfection systems; * discharging clean treated water to the Bedford Water Distribution System; and * recommending to the Town of Bedford to remove trash and debris in the peninsula in the vicinity of the pumphouse area and to discontinue this disposal practice. In June 1988, EPA entered into a Consent Order with the Town of Bedford to carry out the technical design of the cleanup plan. In September 1988, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to the four other potentially responsible parties to assist the Town in the completion of the design. Under the terms of a February 1990 Consent Decree with EPA, the Town agreed to clean up the site. All the construction and installation work included in the cleanup plan were completed in July 1992. Based on a comprehensive review of the Superfund cleanup and several post cleanup inspections, EPA and the state of New York concluded that all the appropriate construction work has been completed and that the monitoring wells and treatment system should continue to be maintained and operated. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not make the site ineligible for later cleanup actions. If such actions prove necessary, they can be taken without renominating the site to the NPL. The name and location of the other federal Superfund sites in the state deleted from the NPL are listed below: Bioclinical Laboratories, Inc. (Bohemia) Wide Beach Development (Brant) Marathon Battery (Cold Spring) Conklin Dumps (Conklin) Action Anodizing, Plating & Polishing (Copiague) Kenmark Textile Corp. (Farmingdale) Clothier Disposal (Granby ) C & J Disposal Leasing Co. Dump (Hamilton) Anchor Chemicals (Hicksville ) Suffern Village Well Field (Suffern) BEC Trucking (Vestal) Vestal Water Supply Well 4-2 (Vestal) Radium Chemical Co., Inc. (Woodside, Queens)