Standard Auto Bumper Corporation ran an electroplating facility in Hialeah, Florida from 1959 to 1993. Wastewater discharged into a ditch and later an on-site percolation pit left soil and groundwater contaminated with metals. Miami-Dade County found the contamination in 1977, and EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. The NPL is the federal government's list of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country.
Nine contaminants of concern were identified at the site. These include barium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, and zinc. Chromium, copper, lead, and nickel were found in soil at the source area. Barium, manganese, nickel, and zinc turned up in groundwater. The contamination threatened the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to Miami-Dade County residents.
Cleanup began in the early 1990s after the company abandoned the property. Workers removed contaminated soil, chemical containers, plating waste sludge, and low-pH metal plating solutions. Excavated soil went to a Florida Class I landfill, and all buildings were demolished by 1994. For groundwater, EPA chose monitored natural attenuation, a process that lets natural conditions reduce contamination over time, combined with groundwater use controls. By 2001, groundwater met cleanup standards for industrial land use. EPA deleted the site from the NPL in 2007 and added a restrictive covenant limiting the property to industrial use only. The most recent five-year review, completed in August 2025, confirmed the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment.
Today, three businesses operate on the site, including truck parking, concrete fencing and roofing services, a bakery, and a furniture company. Both residents and businesses in the area drink water from the public water system, not the local groundwater. Human exposure to contamination is under control. Miami-Dade County also runs a permit notification system that alerts local, state, and federal officials when building permits are issued for two properties near the site where some soil contamination may remain beneath building foundations.
Community members who want to stay informed or ask questions can contact EPA directly. Public notices, public meetings, and community interviews have been used throughout the cleanup process to keep residents informed and gather input. The site's public information repository is at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at 190 West 49th Street in Hialeah, Florida.
