EPA Adds Unity Auto Mart Site in Unity, Wisconsin to the Superfund National Priorities List, Taking Action to Address Risks to Public Health and Build a Better America
CHICAGO (March 17, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Unity Auto Mart site in Unity, Wisconsin site will be added to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of contaminated sites that pose significant human health and environmental risks. Cleaning up contaminated sites is important for the health, safety, and revitalization of communities.
“No community deserves to have contaminated sites near where they live, work, play, and go to school. Nearly 2 out of 3 of the sites being proposed or added to the priorities list are in overburdened or underserved communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “EPA is building a better America by taking action to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites, protect communities’ health, and return contaminated land to safe and productive reuse for future generations.”
“Today’s addition of the Unity Auto Mart site to the NPL demonstrates our commitment to protect the people living in Unity communities near the groundwater contamination,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “We will continue to build a better America by working with our state and local partners to use our federal resources to clean up this site.”
“With this action by EPA, the DNR is encouraged that chlorinated solvents in groundwater from the former Unity Auto Mart will finally be addressed. This is especially important because residents of Unity get their water from private wells, some of which have been contaminated from this site,” said Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Preston D. Cole. “The DNR and EPA have ensured affected residents have a temporary source of safe water, but now a permanent source of safe water may be achieved. Everyone deserves to know that the water coming out of their tap is safe.”
Thousands of contaminated sites, from landfills, processing plants, to manufacturing facilities exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will accelerate EPA’s work to help communities clean up these contaminated sites with a $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund Remedial Program and reinstates the Superfund chemical excise taxes, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address legacy pollution. This historic investment strengthens EPA’s ability to tackle threats to human health and the environment, and EPA has already set action in motion to clear the backlog of the 49 contaminated sites which had been awaiting funding to start remedial action.
With this Superfund NPL update, the Biden-Harris Administration is following through on its commitment to update the NPL twice a year, as opposed to once per year.
The Unity Auto Mart site consists of chlorinated solvent contamination in groundwater originating from the Unity Auto Mart, a former gas station/convenience store, coin-operated laundromat, and dry cleaner. Unity Auto Mart first started as gasoline station in the early 1960s. A dry-cleaning business was added later and operated between 1979 to 1984. The gas station changed hands several times, remaining open until 2012. The property is now vacant. WDNR first identified chlorinated solvents at the property in 1999. By 2014, WDNR requested EPA’s assistance when numerous potable private wells in the Village of Unity were discovered to be contaminated with tetrachloroethene (PCE) and its breakdown products.
The chlorinated solvents found in drinking water wells include PCE and its breakdown products. To date, the chlorinated plume has contaminated 17 private wells, including eight wells with levels above the Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Levels. The contamination plume is currently estimated to span approximately 25 acres. Most residents within a 4-mile radius of the Unity Auto Mart facility rely on private groundwater wells for drinking. WDNR provided carbon filters or alternate water supplies to residents whose drinking water wells contained PCE and TCE exceeding standards. EPA has assisted WDNR with monitoring and delineating the extent of contamination. The state of Wisconsin referred the site to the EPA because substantial investigations and long-term cleanup are required.
Background
The NPL includes the nation's most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. 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.
EPA adds sites to the NPL based on a scientific determination of risks to people and the environment, consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. Before EPA adds a site to the NPL, a site must meet EPA’s requirements and be proposed for addition to the list in the Federal Register, subject to a 60-day public comment period.
Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. 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.
Further, thanks to Superfund cleanups, communities are now using previously blighted properties for a wide range of purposes, including retail businesses, office space, public parks, residences, warehouses, and solar power generation. As of 2021, EPA has collected economic data on 650 Superfund sites. At these sites, there are 10,230 businesses operating on these sites, 246,000 people employed, an estimated $18.6 billion in income earned by employees, and $65.8 billion in sales generated by businesses.
For information about Superfund and the NPL, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund
For Federal Register notices and supporting documents for NPL and proposed sites, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/current-npl-updates-new-proposed-npl-sites-and-new-npl-sites