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Fact Sheet
March 2011
EPA to Oversee Installation of Groundwater Wells, Le Mars Coal Gas Plant Site, Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 will oversee the installation of three monitoring wells at the Le Mars Coal Gas Plant Site during the week of March 28, 2011. The groundwater well installation is being done to conduct additional investigative activities and continued long-term monitoring efforts at the Site. EPA has been monitoring the groundwater in Le Mars for several years.
The Le Mars Coal Gas Plant Site is located at 331 1st Street Northeast. Field efforts will include well installation, development, drilling equipment decontamination, groundwater sampling of the new and existing wells, and surveying activities. Drilling will be conducted within a few blocks south of the Site. Three new wells will be installed in the buried channel aquifer.
The city's well field is located a significant distance away from the Site and draws its water from the Dakota aquifer, which is a different and deeper aquifer than the buried channel aquifer. No one in the community is drinking contaminated water.
BACKGROUND
The Le Mars Coal Gas Plant Site is 1.6 acres, and consists of a right-triangle-shaped property which is bordered on the Northwest by the Union Pacific and Canadian National railroads, on the east by 4th Avenue Northeast, and on the south by 1st Street Northeast. The area surrounding the Site is occupied by residential and commercial properties.
The city of Le Mars is the current property owner, and the Site is currently occupied by the Le Mars Street Department, which uses it for office, maintenance, and storage facilities. Street Department vehicles are parked and maintained on the site property.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:
Belinda Young
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. EPA Region 7
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: 913-551-7003 or
Toll Free: 1-800-223-0425
young.belinda@epa.gov