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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Last week, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) spoke with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore to receive a full status update on the Gelman Sciences’ dioxane plume and the process underway to consider it for inclusion on the National Priorities List (NPL).
 
The EPA concluded a round of testing and will use those results to determine if additional sampling is needed to complete the Agency’s determination of the site’s eligibility for the NPL. 
 
“Last week I spoke with EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore and her team regarding the status of the Gelman Sciences’ dioxane plume as work continues to assess the site for Superfund National Priorities List designation,” Dingell said. “The EPA completed its latest round of site sampling last week. EPA took samples of soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment at the site to generate data to support a potential NPL proposal. I look forward to learning from EPA whether the Agency has sufficient data to move forward with an NPL determination.”
 
“There continue to be serious concerns from the surrounding communities regarding spread of the plume, and the EPA assured me they continue to regularly review data provided about the plume and are prepared to respond quickly to any emergency,” Dingell continued. “Right now, there are 9 on-scene coordinators from the EPA stationed in Ann Arbor and prepared to act should an emergency situation arise.”
 
“We have a shared responsibility at all levels of government to finally get this decades-old contamination plume cleaned up for the health and safety of future community generations,” Dingell concluded. “While the Superfund listing process is comprehensive and will continue to take time to complete, every government agency—federal, state, and local—involved in this process is committed to seeing it through expeditiously.”
 
Rep. Dingell has long advocated for the Gelman dioxane plume to be designated a Superfund site, and has been working closely with the EPA to protect Ann Arbor and the surrounding communities and environment from the plume’s contamination.