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Fact Sheet
April 2008
Scheduled Sampling Activities, Le Mars Coal Gas Plant Site, Le Mars, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 will oversee groundwater and air sampling activities at the Le Mars Coal Gas Plant Site in Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa. Field sampling activities will begin on April 7, 2008, and will continue for approximately 10 to 12 days.
BACKGROUND
The Le Mars Coal Gas Site is located at 331 1st Street, Northeast, Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa. It is 1.6-acres, and 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 Le Mars Coal Gas plant was constructed by the Le Mars Gas Light Company in 1884, and the company conducted coal and gas operations onsite. The Site transferred between several companies over the years, until the City of Le Mars purchased the property in 1985. The City is the current owner of the property and uses the building on the property for office space, maintenance, and storage facilities. EPA discovered the site in 1995 and conducted several assessments of the property between 1995 and 2002. A Non-Time-Critical Removal was conducted by EPA in 2004. EPA has continued to periodically monitor the site area since the removal.
SAMPLING OF CONTAMINANTS
Historically, contaminants of concern at former manufacturing gas plant sites include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), metals and cyanide.
Planned activities at the Site will include the collection of approximately 28 groundwater samples, 12 groundwater samples from existing monitoring wells, and 10 air samples from private residences. The 12 groundwater samples collected are from monitoring wells installed by EPA in 2000. The purpose of the air sampling is to determine whether site-related groundwater contaminants are present in the air in nearby residences due to possible vapor intrusion.
All groundwater and air samples collected during this assessment will be submitted to a regional laboratory for analysis.
The overall time from sample collection to the property owner’s receipt of the results can range from 60 – 90 days.
NEXT STEPS
EPA will continue to collect groundwater samples from the 12 monitoring wells on a quarterly basis from April 2008 to January 2009.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:
Belinda Young
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. EPA Region
7901 N. Fifth Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
Toll Free: 1-800-223-0425
young.belinda@epa.gov
