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Attebury Grain Storage Facility Added to Superfund List

Release Date: 04/08/2009
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Anthony Suttice at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas - April 8, 2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added the Attebury Grain Storage Facility to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites, the EPA and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced today.

The Attebury Grain Storage Facility, located in downtown Happy, Texas, is the site of a plume of contaminated ground water caused by carbon tetrachloride and other solvents in concentrations above safe drinking water maximum contamination levels. The ground water contamination extends off the grain storage property to several public and private water wells.

“Adding this site to the Superfund list makes federal dollars available, allowing EPA and the TCEQ to speed cleanup and meet the agencies’ commitment to protecting public health and environment,” said Acting EPA Regional Administrator Larry Starfield. “EPA and the TCEQ are committed to work together to clean up this site quickly and efficiently.”

“Protection of groundwater is one of the TCEQ’s top priorities, and we are pleased to team with EPA to remediate this site quickly,” said TCEQ Chairman Buddy Garcia.

The contaminated ground water plume is attributed to the use of carbon tetrachloride to extinguish a fire when the grain storage facility burned in 1962. The TCEQ conducted a site inspection in May 2007 and samples taken showed a plume of contamination approximately one-half-mile wide and one-half-mile long in the Ogallala Aquifer, although the extent has not been fully characterized.

In 1991, the City of Happy closed municipal Well No. 3 due to the presence of carbon tetrachloride above safe drinking water maximum contamination levels. In September 2006, TCEQ installed a filtration system on one private well that had contaminants above safe levels. The remaining private well owners were notified by TCEQ of the ground water contamination discovered in their wells and are currently connected to the municipal water supply.

The Attebury Grain Storage Facility site was proposed to the Superfund list in March 2008. Other sites added to the national cleanup list include the following: Raleigh Street Dump, Tampa, Florida; Arkla Terra Property, Thonotosassa, Florida; U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc., East Chicago, Indiana; Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water, Frederick, Maryland; Behr Dayton Thermal System VOC Plume, Dayton, Ohio; New Carlisle Landfill, New Carlisle, Ohio; BoRit Asbestos, Ambler, Pennsylvania; and Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields, McCormick, South Carolina.

More information on the Superfund National Priorities List is available at: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/apr2009.html