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Jacobs Smelter site in Utah added to EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL)

Release Date: 2/3/2000
Contact Information:
(800) 227-8917 x6757,

Release Date: 2/3/2000
Contact Information:
(800) 227-8917 x6748 ,

Release Date: 2/3/2000
Contact Information:
(801) 536-4166,

Release Date: 2/3/2000
Contact Information:
(800) 227-8917 x6602

DENVER – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today added the former Jacobs Smelter site in Stockton, Utah, to EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. This announcement follows a 60-day period during which citizens were given the opportunity to comment on the proposed listing.

The NPL is a published list of U.S. hazardous waste sites that are eligible for long-term cleanup under the Superfund program. Listing makes the site eligible to receive federal funds for cleanup while EPA seeks to recover costs from those responsible for the contamination. Listing also allows EPA to use Superfund money for cleanup when there are no responsible parties who can pay for the work.

The Jacobs Smelter site covers at least 150 acres in Stockton, a town six miles south of Tooele City. Historically, the Rush Lake/Stockton area was a smelting center for this part of Utah, receiving and milling ore from most of the mines in the area. Tailings and smelting wastes were deposited around the smelter and the surrounding community.

Investigations by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) and EPA found high concentrations of lead and arsenic in soil in residential areas. Exposure to high levels of lead and arsenic may pose a risk to children and other sensitive individuals. EPA believes the potential problem is serious enough to warrant federal Superfund involvement.

In 1999, EPA’s Emergency Response Program cleaned up 26 residential properties with very high concentrations of lead and arsenic. Today’s listing will allow EPA and UDEQ to clean up those properties that were not addressed by the emergency response action.

Listing the site provides immediate funding for cleanup work and also guarantees the public an opportunity to participate in cleanup decisions.

Information that EPA used to propose listing the site on July 22, 1999, and responses to public comments will be available at:


Tooele City Library
47 East Vine Street
Tooele, UT 84074
(435) 882-2182
Hours:
Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed: Sunday and Monday

Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ)
Division of Environmental Response and Remediation
1950 West North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4840
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
U.S. EPA Region 8 Records Center
999 18th Street (Check in at 3rd Floor, South Tower)
Denver, CO 80202-2466
(303) 312-6473
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.