Stimulus money trickling into state

Two Superfund sites in Utah will receive $30 million in federal stimulus money from the Environmental Protection Agency to accelerate cleanup efforts.

The announcement of $600 million in new funding was made Wednesday morning by the agency, which detailed sites in 28 states targeted for the money.

About $5 million will go to the Bountiful/Woods Cross 500 South PCE plume in Davis County, which was named to the agency's National Priorities List in 2001 because of groundwater contaminants that pose a public health risk at the 400-acre site.

PCE — or tetrachloroethylene — is a chemical that was commonly used in dry-cleaning operations and can cause dizziness, headaches, sleepiness and nausea. In high concentrations it can cause death if exposure happens in poorly ventilated areas.

Michael Storck, the state project manager with the Department of Environmental Quality, said recent quarterly monitoring of the groundwater showed PCE levels at 60 parts per billion in contrast to federal standards of 5 parts per billion.

The contamination is at the 130 feet level of the aquifer and affects domestic wells used for agricultural purposes, Storck said.

The money will pay for installation of additional ground water extraction wells, monitoring wells and the construction of a water treatment system.

An estimated $25 million will, in part, cap three large mine waste sites at the 680-acre Eureka Mills site in Juab County's East Tintic mountains.

Listed since 2002, the site poses a public health risk because of heaving mining in the area that left lead contaminants in waste rock. The EPA says the money will also go for the clean up of approximately 160 residences where there are lead-contaminated soils.

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