HYDE PARK – The US Environmental Protection Agency has deleted the Haviland Complex Town of Hyde Park Contamination Superfund site from the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.
Cleanup work at the site is complete and the levels of contamination in the groundwater have dropped to below state and federal drinking water standards.
“EPA’s work here is done. Thanks to our actions, the contamination in the groundwater has dropped to the point where you can drink the water,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia.
The Haviland Complex site is a 275-acre area in Hyde Park that was contaminated by volatile organic compounds from the septic and sewage systems of a car wash, laundromat, a dry cleaner, and a middle school.
Contamination was discovered in 1981 and the site was added to the Superfund program in 1986.
EPA selected a cleanup plan in 1987 and modified it in 1997. The plan included removing the source of contamination from the sewers and allowing the levels of volatile organic compounds to drop naturally while monitoring to assess the progress,
EPA installed additional monitoring wells in 1999.
The Dutchess County Health Department installed a public water system in the area as part of a countywide plan. The State Department of Environmental Conservation connected the affected homes to the system in 2000.
