EPA seeks to add Odessa, TX groundwater site to Superfund priority list

DALLAS –  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposed addition of Northwest Odessa Groundwater site to the National Priorities List (NPL) where releases of contamination pose human health and environmental risks. The site contains contamination that is potentially threatening the Trinity/Antlers portion of the Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer System in Odessa, Texas.

Under the Trump Administration, the Superfund program has re-emerged as a priority to fulfill the agency’s mission. EPA’s renewed focus has spurred action to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites, protect the health of communities, and return contaminated land to safe and productive reuse for future generations.

Over the last three years, EPA has fully or partially delisted 55 sites from the National Priorities List. In Fiscal Year 2019 alone, EPA deleted all or part of 27 Superfund sites from the NPL – the largest number of deletions in a single year since Fiscal Year 2001.

“Communities with sites on the National Priorities List are a true national priority under the Trump administration,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Many of the sites we are adding today are in vulnerable, low-income, and minority communities that deserve our attention. EPA is demonstrating our commitment to assist overburdened communities in becoming cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous places to live, work, and go to school.”

“At EPA, we are taking action to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites, protect the health of communities, and return contaminated land to safe and productive reuse for future generations,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “By adding it to the NPL, EPA prioritizes this site, removing hazards from the community for the benefit of local families, businesses, and natural resources.”

The Northwest Odessa Groundwater site is a chlorinated solvent-contaminated groundwater plume of unknown origin with the site center located at the intersection of 54th Street and Andrews Highway in Odessa, Texas. The area consists primarily of commercial and light industrial properties, used by various businesses from the mid-1950s along Andrews Highway, with residential areas to the east and west of the site center.

The NPL includes the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. The list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.