Palermo Well Field Ground Water Contamination

⚠ Superfund · Construction complete

Under EPA’s oversight, the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency are conducting additional studies to further delineate and characterize the TCE and PCE plumes. This work will be used to determine if additional remedial action should be proposed for this site.

Location

CityTumwater
CountyThurston County
StateWashington
Coordinates47.00167, -122.90417

Contaminants of concern

Contaminated media

Cleanup timeline

  1. Initial Assessment Completed — Not Yet Achieved
  2. Proposed to the National Priorities List — 12/23/1996
  3. Finalized on the National Priorities List — 04/01/1997
  4. Remedial Investigation Started — 06/05/1997
  5. Final Remedy Selected — 11/16/1999
  6. Remedial Action Started — 06/01/2000
  7. Construction Completed — 02/22/2001
  8. Deleted from National Priorities List — Not Yet Achieved
  9. Most Recent Five-Year Review — 09/19/2023
  10. Achieved Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Reuse — Not Yet Achieved

EPA references

EPA-regulated facilities nearby

Understanding this Superfund site

Palermo Well Field Ground Water Contamination is a federal Superfund site in Washington. The Superfund program, created by Congress in 1980, addresses sites where hazardous substances have been released or threaten release into the environment. EPA scores potential sites using the Hazard Ranking System; those that score high enough are placed on the National Priorities List.

Current status: Construction complete. Physical construction of the cleanup remedy is complete, though long-term monitoring and institutional controls typically continue for years or decades. Groundwater treatment systems, for example, often run long after surface cleanup finishes.

Contaminants of concern include tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene. Contamination has been detected in air, soil, groundwater, surface water, soil gas.

If you live near this site and have health concerns, your state health department can provide site-specific guidance. EPA maintains a community involvement program for most NPL sites, and site documents — including the Record of Decision, five-year reviews, and public health assessments — are typically available through EPA's Superfund site profile.