The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added a contaminated groundwater plume in Bountiful and Woods Cross to the National Priorities List, making it the 14th active Superfund site in Utah.

The contaminated groundwater plume in Bountiful, which was first found in the late 1990s, led to the closure of two drinking-water wells in Woods Cross — one that was forced to be shut down and one the city opted to close when levels of PCE, or tetrachloroethylene, continued to rise after it was detected.

PCE, a chemical found in dry-cleaning operations, can cause dizziness, headache, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in speaking and walking, unconsciousness and death if concentrations are too high in closed, poorly ventilated areas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Irritation may result from repeated or extended skin contact. It also may cause cancer, according to the CDC.

The PCE is believed to have come from dry-cleaning operations near the former Five Points Mall. No one, however, has yet been held responsible for the leaks that led to the contamination.

Woods Cross Mayor Kent Parry said his city drilled a new drinking-water well when the first well was shut down in 1999 and is looking to drill another new well by 2010. The city has plenty of clean water right now, but a new well will be needed, he said.

City Manager Gary Uresk said the city is applying for a low-interest loan from the Utah government to get a new well, which could cost up to $1 million.

Parry said he's in favor of the Superfund listing because it's a critical step toward getting contamination out of the groundwater.

"It's what needs to happen in order to mitigate that site," Parry said.

David Allison, a community involvement coordinator with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said some people see a Superfund listing as positive and others see it as negative.

But the realities come down to cleanup costs.

"We have no active funding source other than Superfund to handle that," Allison said.

According to the EPA, those determined to be responsible for the contamination will pay for the cleanup. But if those parties are unable to pay, federal Superfund dollars will be used in the cleanup, which may take years to happen.

Cleanup at nine other Superfund sites has previously been completed.

For Woods Cross, the next steps will be long ones, however, because the EPA requires an investigation, project proposals, public comment and then a decision before remediation can begin.

The first well that was shut down is located about 400 W. 1500 South in Bountiful, and the second well is located about 700 W. 1500 South in Woods Cross, with most of the plume believed to exist in Woods Cross.

The city is home to another groundwater plume, known as the Bountiful/Woods Cross 5th South plume, which also is contaminated with PCE.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com