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EPA Places Great Bend, Kansas, Site on the Federal Cleanup Priorities List

Release Date: 03/19/2008
Contact Information: Fritz Hirter, (913) 551-7130, [email protected]

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Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 19, 2008) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced its decision to add the Plating, Inc. site in Great Bend, Kan., to the federal Superfund National Priorities List. The NPL is a list of the nation's hazardous waste sites with the highest priority for cleanup. These sites are eligible for extensive, long-term response action money authorized by Congress under the Superfund program.

Plating, Inc. is located in Barton County, Kan., in an industrial area at the Great Bend Airport surrounded by agricultural land. Contamination from chromium plating has contributed to elevated levels of chromium in soil and ground water in this area.

The placement of this site on the Superfund priority list ensures additional federal resources will be available to protect Great Bend residents from high concentrations of chromium in soil and drinking water.

EPA wants to help affected communities understand the technical information related to these sites. EPA's Technical Assistance Grant Program provides up to $50,000 for a qualified citizens group to hire independent technical advisors. The advisors can help citizens interpret complex environmental data, understand site hazards and critique various cleanup technologies. For additional information about the Technical Assistance Grant Program, contact Fritz Hirter (see contact information above).