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EPA Removes Paragould, AR, Site from Superfund List; Former auto equipment manufacturing site meets cleanup standards

Release Date: 10/08/2014
Contact Information: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (Oct. 8, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Monroe Auto Equipment Co. site near Paragould, Ark., has been removed from the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites, a list of sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.

“Cleaning up contaminated sites improves the health of communities and our environment,” said Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “EPA and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality worked hard to make sure this site meets cleanup standards.”

The Monroe Auto Equipment Company used the site to dispose of alum and lime sludge that came from treatment of wastewater at the company’s manufacturing plant in Paragould from 1973 to 1978. This resulted in over 10,000 cubic yards of sludge at the site in sand and gravel pits. EPA added the site to the NPL in 1990.

The remedy for the site, which involved a combination of containment, excavation, and treatment of the sludge, was completed in 1999. Groundwater monitoring has continued at the site since the late 1980s, with readings for all contaminants of concern remaining below health-based action levels since 2003. After several years of monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the remedy, EPA and the state of Arkansas agreed no further action is required to protect human health or the environment at the site and that it could be removed from the NPL.

Learn more about EPA’s work in Arkansas:
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-arkansas

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