Bountiful Cleaners - Five Points PCE Plume - Bountiful, Utah
Posted by: 
Lord Mot
N 40° 52.459 W 111° 53.144
12T E 425366 N 4525182
Located at approximately 1500 S. State Street and State Highway 106 in Bountiful, Utah
Waymark Code: WMC8K6
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2011
Views: 5
Site Description:
The Five Points PCE Plume site (Five Points) is an area of groundwater contamination that exists below ground level. The groundwater plume is located approximately at the intersection of 1500 South State Street and State Highway 106, extending to the west-northwest. The location of the plume, based on current information, lies primarily under the city of Woods Cross.
The site consists of a groundwater plume of tetrachloroethylene (PCE)—sometimes called perchloroethylene (PERC)—that is used as a dry cleaning agent or metal degreaser. Woods Cross has four municipal water wells that provide drinking water to the community of 9,795 people. Two of these four wells are contaminated with PCE. One of the wells consistently shows PCE levels exceeding the safe drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion (ppb). This well provides over 33 percent of Wood Cross city's water supply and has been shut down since February 1999 because of PCE contamination. The other affected well containing PCE shows levels below the safe drinking water standard.
Site Risk:
The contaminant of concern is tetrachloroethylene (PCE), primarily used in the dry cleaning process and as a metal degreaser. Another name for the substance that is frequently used by those in the dry cleaning business is perchloroethylene (PERC). PCE is found in the groundwater, but the drinking water in this area is municipal water which meets the Safe Drinking Water standard. Woods Cross monitors this water regularly.
Two of the four wells Woods Cross city uses to supply drinking water to its citizens are contaminated with PCE. One of these wells is no longer pumping water, but will be needed in the next few years to help meet increased demand.. The other affected well contains PCE levels below the safe drinking water standard. It is possible that concentrations of PCE will increase over time if the groundwater contamination is not addressed. Placing the site on the NPL list allows EPA to address this situation before conditions deteriorate.
Cleanup Process:
Early in 2008, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) assumed the lead on this site. Work began on the Remedial Investigation (RI) in 2008. During the RI, the extent, or boundaries, of the plume will be identified and what source(s) might be contributing to the contamination in the groundwater.
EPA's Removal program worked with a nearby dry cleaner during the summer of 2007 to remove an old underground storage structure that contained PCE. This action only partially addressed the source of contamination. This action does not address the contaminated groundwater.
Community Involvement:
Throughout the cleanup process, Superfund law requires that stakeholders and the community be given every opportunity to have meaningful input on how the plume is cleaned up. First, a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) is prepared acknowledging any concerns or issues the community and other stakeholders may have. The CIP outlines how EPA and UDEQ will communicate with the public about future work, opportunities for commenting on decisions, and other pertinent information. Some methods used for communicating with the public include: fact sheets, public notices, public meetings, press releases and this Web page.
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