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EPA Orders GE, Unisys and Pridco To Undertake $4.2 Million Cleanup Of Contaminated Soil At Superfund Site in Vega Alta, P.R.

Release Date: 10/07/1998
Contact Information:

(#98146) SAN JUAN, P.R. -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox has ordered Caribe General Electric (GE) Products, Inc., the Unisys Corporation (Unisys) and the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) to design and carry out a $4.2 million EPA cleanup plan targeting chemically-contaminated soils that damaged the public water supply in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. The cleanup of the Vega Alta Public Supply Wells Superfund site will be conducted with EPA oversight under the terms of a Superfund Unilateral Administrative Order issued by the Agency.

While the work is already underway to clean up the groundwater, contaminated soils that are the primary source of the groundwater contamination, still remain at the Vega Alta Industrial Park, which is owned by PRIDCO. The soils, containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are in the eastern side of the industrial park where Caribe GE operates a manufacturing facility that was previously operated by Unisys and other GE subsidiaries.

EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox noted that "When a vital public resource like a drinking water aquifer is contaminated by chemicals, it takes years to reclaim it. The goal of EPA's order to the responsible parties is to eliminate the primary remaining source of contamination. This will speed up the aquifer's recovery making it usable by future generations."

The future work will involve the operation of a mobile or permanent soil vapor extraction treatment system to remove VOCs from contaminated soils at the GE facility in the industrial park.

Groundwater cleanup has been underway at the site since 1993 under the terms of another EPA Superfund Unilateral Administrative Order issued in 1989 and amended in 1994 and 1997. This cleanup included the installation of a groundwater treatment system at the Ponderosa production well and the extension of municipal water supply pipelines to replace two contaminated wells. The treatment system currently discharges the treated water to Honda Creek. The remedial approach for this phase of the cleanup was modified several times, most recently in 1997. Caribe GE and Unisys are designing a series of groundwater treatment wells, located close to the source area in order to reduce VOCs. GE and Unisys continue to operate the Ponderosa well treatment system and perform the remedial design as required by the previous Unilateral Order.

Site Description

The Vega Alta Public Supply Wells site extends over 5 square miles and includes the area that serves as the public water supply well field for the municipality of Vega Alta. The well field consists of approximately 15 active wells and inactive supply wells. The Vega Alta well field and wells of the nearby municipalities of Vega Baja and Dorado have been estimated to be extracting approximately 18.7 million gallons per day of water from the aquifer.

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) is responsible for operating and maintaining the public water supply system. The U.S. Geological Survey sampled the wells in 1983 and found VOCs in the Ponderosa well. Groundwater, sediments, and soil are contaminated with various VOCs.

For more information contact:
Richard Cahill, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3666 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: cahill.richard@epamail.epa.gov