EPA declares underground chemical plume in Ann Arbor as Superfund site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated an underground chemical plume in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area, as a Superfund site on the National Priorities List, local and federal authorities said Thursday.
The problem has been known about for years, with state and local officials among those monitoring the situation in the Ann Arbor area.
A Superfund designation directs additional federal resources and oversight toward addressing and remediating the contamination at the former Gelman Sciences site on Wagner Road and nearby groundwater. Specifically, the National Priorities List identifies sites "where hazardous substances pose significant threats to human health or the environment and where long-term cleanup is needed," the EPA said.
"Thank you to the EPA for following the law and science and to Representative Debbie Dingell for her tireless efforts on behalf of our community," Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said about the updated status. "Ann Arbor has been fighting successfully for decades to protect our drinking water. I'm grateful now to have the federal government engaged and on our side and working with us to keep our water safe for generations to come."
As the City of Ann Arbor explains on its website, a proposal to add the Gelman site to the Superfund list was presented in the spring of 2024.
An industrial solvent known as dioxane was once used at the manufacturing facility, the EPA said. The chemical was disposed of onsite during the time frame from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. But in the mid-1980s, contamination was discovered off-site, and it has since spread via groundwater into other parts of western Ann Arbor and Scio Township in Washtenaw County.
The plume now extends for several miles and is monitored through a network of groundwater wells, the EPA said.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy currently manages the cleanup. The City of Ann Arbor's water treatment system and monitoring programs test regularly for the chemical and issue reports to the community.
Because of the contamination, the City of Ann Arbor requires all properties within the affected area to connect to the city's municipal water system rather than use well water options.
