CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a proposal to a Fayette County town to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites.
“Today, we are proposing to add the Shaffer Equipment/Arbuckle Creek Area site in Minden to the NPL,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This is part of EPA’s continuing effort to conduct a thorough study to evaluate the contamination issues in the community and develop a remediation plan that will protect human health and the environment.”
The Shaffer Equipment/Arbuckle Creek Area site is among six sites being proposed to the NPL. This list includes the nation’s most hazardous waste sites. Once added to the lists, sites are eligible for federal funding for long-term cleanup efforts.
The Fayette County site consists of sediments from Arbuckle Creek contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which have spread to residential areas due to flooding.
PCBs are listed as a known carcinogen. Shaffer Equipment produced mining machines, which required a large amount of PCB oil.
Residents allege Shaffer would dump “hundreds of gallons” of PCB oil into the ground on a daily basis while it was in operation from 1970 to 1984.
“After several decades we have now gotten to the point where this is finally getting addressed,” said Gov. Jim Justice. “It has always been my intent to make sure that this be done for the citizens of Minden.”
Justice first expressed support for adding Minden to the NPL last February. Months of soil sampling still need to be conducted in order to provide support for the action.
“I share with the people of Minden for this NPL designation process to be wrapped up as quickly as possible and that’s why I acted immediately upon their request to send my letter of support to the EPA,” said Justice. “I have said from the very beginning that I am going to do everything I can to make sure this site is listed for cleanup and I am following through on that promise.”
Senator Joe Manchin also weighed in on the possible addition of the site to the NPL.
“West Virginians’ health is my number one priority and the reports of high cancer rates in Minden are alarming. That’s why I’m glad the EPA has finally proposed adding the Shaffer Equipment/Arbuckle Creek Site in Minden to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. Ongoing studies will allow us to understand the public health implications of the contamination issues in Minden and help guide the EPA in determining the best plan of action.”
More information on the Superfund Cleanup Process can be found here.