Piper Aircraft Corp./Vero Beach Water & Sewer Department

Overview

The Piper Aircraft Corp./Vero Beach Water and Sewer Department site is an 80-acre aircraft manufacturing facility in Vero Beach, Florida. EPA added it to the National Priorities List in 1990 after a leaking underground storage tank contaminated soil and groundwater. The site remains in active industrial use, with three on-site businesses employing 826 people and generating about $228.9 million in annual sales.

Six contaminants are present in groundwater in Operable Unit 01. They are 1,1-dichloroethene, chloroethene (vinyl chloride), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and trichloroethene. Early investigations found the contamination plume extended beyond the facility boundary and reached a municipal well across the street. The City of Vero Beach shut down that well and connected nearby residents and businesses to the public water supply instead.

Cleanup started in 1979 when the city and Piper Aircraft installed a groundwater pump-and-treat system. Piper removed the underground storage tank in 1989 and cleaned up the contaminated soil around it. EPA issued a formal cleanup plan in 1993, which called for air stripping and extraction wells to treat contaminated groundwater. A new extraction and treatment system started running in 1998. In 2009, a modified remedy added in-well air stripping, reinjection of treated water, and institutional controls that restrict the site to industrial use only. Groundwater met Florida cleanup standards by 2017, allowing the treatment system to shut down. The site then shifted to monitored natural attenuation, where natural biological, chemical, and physical processes handle remaining contamination. Annual groundwater monitoring continues.

The contamination plume is now fully contained within the property boundaries and is shrinking. The 2024 Five-Year Review confirmed the remedy is fully protective of human health and the environment in both the short and long term, with no additional actions recommended. Human exposure is under control and there are no unacceptable exposure pathways. Groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The St. John's River Water Management District requires its approval for any new wells in the surrounding area. Piper Aircraft also earned the EPA Region 4 Excellence in Site Reuse Award in June 2019.

Community members can stay engaged through EPA's ongoing involvement activities, which include public notices, public meetings, and interviews. Site-related records are available at the Indian River County Main Library at 1600 21st Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960.