EPA To Address Environmental Concerns At the Wellfield in Riviera Beach, Florida

Business Wire, Nov 16, 2000

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced action it has taken to address environmental concerns at the Solitron Devices and Trans Circuit Superfund sites in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Specifically, EPA is delaying the selection of a cleanup plan for contaminated groundwater at the site until further testing is completed. The additional sampling is being conducted in response to concerns raised by the City of Riviera Beach during EPA's comment period on the proposed cleanup. The testing is expected to be completed within six months.

"Postponing the selection of a final cleanup until after additional studies are completed will allow for a more comprehensive approach in cleaning up contamination which may have threatened the city's wellfield for many years," said John H. Hankinson, Jr., EPA Regional Administrator in Atlanta. "EPA remains firmly committed to working with the City of Riviera Beach to ensure that the remedy is protective of human health and the environment."

Additional testing will include groundwater sampling within the wellfield and beneath the Solitron site. The supplemental study also may necessitate the construction of more wells in the area. The results of the testing will enable EPA to satisfy community concerns prior to completion of the decision-making process. Upon completion of the study, EPA will determine if the current proposed cleanup will be implemented as is, modified, or if a new remedy will be proposed.

The proposed cleanup plan to address groundwater contamination near the Trans Circuit site will include a provision to support the city's cost of operating the air stripping towers. The cleanup proposal for the Trans Circuit site will be available for public comment within the next three weeks.

EPA is firmly committed to working cooperatively with the community to provide maximum opportunity to review and comment on all reports, studies and decisions made throughout the cleanup at both sites.