U.S. EPA Deletes Jasco Superfund Site in Mountain View, California, From the Superfund National Priorities List

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Oct. 16 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on Oct. 15:

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator John Busterud announced the deletion from the Superfund National Priorities List of the Jasco Superfund site in Mountain View, California, during a virtual event. Mr. Busterud was joined by EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management Assistant Administrator, Peter Wright. The site, once a chemical repackaging facility, was cleaned up under EPA oversight and is being redeveloped into a 226-unit apartment complex and small city park. EPA will continue to coordinate with the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), which is involved with addressing perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination of groundwater going forward.

Jasco Chemical Corporation operated a 2-acre chemical repackaging facility from 1976 until 1995. In 1989, EPA added the site to the Superfund Program's National Priorities List (NPL) because volatile organic compounds and hydrocarbons were detected in soil and groundwater. EPA's remedy included the installation of a groundwater treatment system, removal of hundreds of cubic yards of soil and extraction of soil vapor. In 2002, the Jasco site achieved EPA cleanup goals for groundwater and soil contamination.

Jasco's cleanup goals have been met. However, EPA did identify an offsite plume of PCE, a volatile organic compound, that lies partly underneath the site. Jasco did not cause this PCE contamination, called the Villa Street PCE Plume, so EPA did not require Jasco to clean it up. The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) is the lead regulatory agency for further investigation and cleanup of the Villa Street Plume. An environmental deed restriction on the former Jasco site requires the RWQCB and EPA to oversee the site's future re-use to ensure soil or groundwater is managed according to a soil management plan that prevents any human exposure to the chemical.

"Removing Jasco from the federal Superfund list is a vital step toward creating a safer, healthier environment for the people who live and work in Mountain View," said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. "EPA is committed to ensuring that work continues at the Jasco site to protect human health and the environment from any potential effects of PCE. We will work with the Regional Water Quality Control Board as they continue the investigation and cleanup."

On Monday, October 5, EPA announced that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 the Agency deleted all or part of 27 sites from the Superfund National Priorities List. This marks the third year in a row that EPA has deleted a historically high number of Superfund sites, sending a clear message that human health and the environment are protected and paving the way for redeveloping these properties into community assets.

The attention and focus the Trump Administration has put on the Superfund program is making a real difference in the lives of people living in communities near Superfund sites across the country," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. "Clean up and deletion from the NPL helps communities move forward, allowing land to be repurposed and reused in more productive ways. We're proud of the progress we've made."

During the Trump Administration, EPA has deleted all or part of 82 sites from the NPL. In FY 2017, EPA doubled the number of full and partial sites deleted over the previous fiscal year with a total of six sites. In FY 2018, the Agency increased the total number of deletions to 22, and in FY 2019, increased it to 27. This past year, in FY 2020, EPA continued to achieve a historically high rate of deletions with 14 full sites and parts of 13 additional sites, for a total of 27 deletion activities.

Additional information about EPA's NPL deletions can be viewed at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/deleted-national-priorities-list-npl-sites-state.

The Superfund Task Force Accomplishments can be viewed at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-task-force-recommendations-and-accomplishments.