EPA Proposes a New Mexico Site to the Superfund National Priorities List

EPA Proposes a New Mexico Site to the Superfund National Priorities List

September 13, 2024

"Through this important work, EPA is helping protect vulnerable communities from uncontrolled hazardous waste releases," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "We are also contributing to the affected communities' economic and overall wellbeing by restoring land currently blighted by contamination."

The former Carlisle Village Cleaners, located at 3611 Simms Avenue SE in Albuquerque, operated from 1962 through 1974 in a strip mall along with three other businesses. The dry-cleaning process used chemicals like tetrachloroethene (PCE) and its byproduct, trichloroethene (TCE). TCE and PCE exposure can lead to bladder cancer, heart defects, skin rash and can damage facial nerves. Currently, the former dry cleaner facility is used for storage by a local business operating nearby, but it is not occupied full-time.

In May 2022, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) conducted sampling to determine whether chemicals from past operations were present in soil gas. The sampling results concluded there were high levels of PCE and TCE in soil gas samples located adjacent to the strip mall building. In August of the same year, the state of New Mexico recommended EPA conduct indoor air sampling at the strip mall. Since the recommendation, EPA conducted indoor air sampling at the five buildings that comprise the strip mall, and at eight nearby buildings, installed air purifying units and installed vapor pins to help determine if the chemicals are traveling from beneath the surface to the indoor air. In addition, NMED collected samples from 19 residential structures and mailed letters to each property owner explaining the results. Currently, EPA is designing a Vapor Intrusion Mitigation System (VIMS) to reduce the amount of vapor entering residential and commercial properties by fall of this year.

For more information on this site, please view our response webpageandStorymap.

The Biden Administration has provided historic funding to accelerate EPA's work to clean up NPL sites so they can be returned to communities for productive use. With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund remedial program and the Inflation Reduction Act's reinstatement of the Superfund "polluter pays" chemical excise taxes to help clean up such sites, the Administration has made one of the largest investments in American history to address legacy pollution. Due to this historic funding, EPA was able to clear the pre-existing backlog of unfunded Superfund sites and has provided as much cleanup funding in the past two years as it did in the previous five years.

The four sites EPA is proposing to add to the NPL with this action are located in communities historically overburdened by pollution. These sites raise potential environmental justice concerns based on income, demographic, education, linguistic, and life expectancy data. By taking action to add and propose to add these sites to the NPL, EPA is working to protect communities in the greatest need - in alignment with President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which makes it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

EPA is adding the following site to the National Priorities List:

• Afterthought Mine; Bella Vista, California.

EPA is proposing to add the following sites to the National Priorities List:

• Historic Potteries; Trenton, New Jersey.
• Carlisle Village Cleaners; Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• J.H. Baxter; Eugene, Oregon.

Past activities at the sites announced today include copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold mining; pottery manufacturing; dry cleaning; lead acid battery refining and recycling; and wood treating. Site contaminants are numerous and include hazardous substances such as lead, zinc, and other heavy metals; chlorinated solvents; dioxins; and arsenic. Contamination affects surface water, groundwater, soil (residential and industrial), and subsurface soil (vapor intrusion).

Background

The NPL includes sites with the nation's most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. This list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at non-federal sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.

Before EPA adds a site to the NPL, a site must meet EPA's requirements and be proposed for addition to the list in the Federal Register, subject to a 60-day public comment period. EPA may add the site to the NPL if it continues to meet the listing requirements after the public comment period closes and the agency has responded to any comments.

Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited for significant reductions in both birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24 percent within three miles of sites after cleanup. 

Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has followed through on commitments to update the NPL twice a year, as opposed to once per year. Today's announcement is the second time EPA is updating the NPL in 2024.

Learn more about Superfund and the National Priorities List.