EPA Orders Ameren to Perform Additional Cleanup Work to Solve Contaminated Elm Point Well

The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a motion to revoke the proposed Consent Ordinance for the current block 4.

LENEKS, CAN. (February 16, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invoked an additional work clause of the 2018 Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order of Consent (ASAOC) for the current Unit 4 (OU4) Findett Corp superfund facility. in St. Charles, Missouri. In accordance with the ASAOC, EPA requires Ameren to conduct additional investigation and interim clean-up actions at the facility to eliminate contamination.

“The EPA worked quickly to complete the January field work and laboratory analysis of soil and groundwater samples collected at the Elm Point well,” said Bob Yurgens. “The Environmental Protection Agency is taking urgent action to ensure that Ameren cleans up the newly discovered contamination at the Elm Point well.”

As a result of an EPA investigation in January 2023, the EPA determined that additional work needs to be done at OU4 and directed Ameren to:

  • Conduct treatment pilot studies to reduce contaminants in advance and evaluate the future applicability of these treatments to current contaminants.
  • Conduct a targeted feasibility study to evaluate additional remedial measures and propose modifications to existing facilities to address the recent discovery of groundwater contaminants north of the Ameren substation.
  • While a focused feasibility study is underway, Ameren is to temporarily work with the city to meet its water supply needs; for example, working with the city to develop a safe well evacuation regime or other alternatives.

Now that the EPA has ruled out another source of contamination north of Highway 370, in addition to directing Ameren to immediately address the Elm Point well contamination problem, the EPA has asked the US Department of Justice to withdraw the proposed Decree of Consent for OU4. Given the ongoing work and public comments received, the United States does not see fit to move the Consent Decree forward at this time.

EPA Region 7 will host Community meeting in the Catholic parish of St. Charles Borromeo on Thursday, February 23rd. The session will start at 18:00 with the official presentation at 19:00. After the presentation, the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency will hold a question and answer session until 20:30.

More information on the Findett Corp superfund website. available on the profile page of the EPA website..

# # #

Learn more about US EPA Region 7

View all region 7 news releases

Join EPA Region 7 on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7

Content Source

News Press Ohio – Latest News:
Columbus Local News || Cleveland Local News || Ohio State News || National News || Money and Economy News || Entertainment News || Tech News || Environment News

Related Articles

Back to top button