Commerce Street Plume

Overview

The Commerce Street Plume site sits in Williston, Vermont, where manufacturing and electroplating work at 96 Commerce Street left behind serious contamination in soil, sediment, and groundwater. Between 1979 and 1984, Mitec Systems Corp. discharged rinse water and sludge into an unlined lagoon and leach field. That waste contained chromium, cadmium, cyanide, nickel, and industrial solvents. The site was proposed to the National Priorities List in September 2004 and finalized in April 2005.

Sixteen contaminants of concern have been identified across the site. Groundwater holds chemicals including trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, vinyl chloride, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, iron, dichloromethane, and 1,2-dichloroethane. Contaminated soil contained arsenic, chromium(VI), and several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Vapor intrusion from trichloroethene also raised concerns at a nearby home on South Brownell Road.

Several cleanup actions are already finished. EPA excavated about 830 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the lagoon area between October and November 2017 and disposed of it off-site. In summer 2021, crews installed a sub-slab depressurization system and vapor barrier beneath the home at 830 South Brownell Road to address vapor intrusion. A 2018 pre-design study showed contamination levels had dropped enough to shift the groundwater plan from chemical oxidation to in situ bioremediation. A 2022 Explanation of Significant Differences updated cleanup levels and refined the remedy further. The first five-year review was completed in January 2023.

Active groundwater remediation is now in progress. Biobarrier wells were installed along Commerce Street through late 2024, and additional injections are planned for spring 2025. The state of Vermont began its remedial action in June 2022, with completion estimated between September and November 2027. Human exposure is currently under control, and groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Physical construction is not yet complete, and the site has not been deleted from the National Priorities List.

Community members can follow progress through public meetings. Another meeting is planned before cleanup work begins near South Brownell Road and Kirby Lane. Presentation slides and maps from the March 2025 public meeting are available online at www.epa.gov/superfund/commercestreet. The Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston also holds site documents. EPA contacts Kira Mok and Kevin Heine handle community involvement and project management, and Vermont Agency of Natural Resources contact Kimberly Caldwell covers state-level questions.

(NOTE: This summary was created based on all information available on the EPA's official site profile page as of May 29, 2026. To see the most up-to-date information provided by the EPA, visit the EPA's official profile page for this site. For questions, or to politely encourage the EPA keep their profile page current, contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager assigned to this site.)