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Ouachita County Site Added to Superfund List

Release Date: 5/11/2000
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

    Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added the Ouachita Nevada Wood Treater site to the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).  The five-acre former wood preserving facility is about a quarter of a mile north of Reader in Ouachita County, Ark.

     "Listing this site is an important first step in ensuring that public health and the environment will be protected. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality are committed to work together to clean up this site quickly and efficiently," EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke said.

     The property contains three ponds that caught spills from treatment cylinders, six above-ground tanks, 35 drums and contaminated soil. Pentachlorophenol, chromium, copper, arsenic and several other semi-volatile compounds have been detected in the ponds, drums and soils.
 
     Rainwater from these areas drains toward an intermittent stream and wetlands west of the site. The wetlands drain into the Little Missouri River 1.25 miles north of the site. Hazardous substances have been found in sediment samples from the wetlands. Fish caught in these contaminated wetlands are eaten by local residents.

     The EPA Superfund program works closely with state agencies to clean and restore uncontrolled contaminated properties. Superfund cleans sites when the work required is beyond the resources of state and local agencies.

     Additional information about this site is available on the EPA web site at
https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/newfin.htm.