The Franklin Street Groundwater Contamination site sits in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana. EPA added it to the National Priorities List in May 2018 after tetrachloroethene (PCE), a chemical solvent, was found in finished drinking water at a local treatment plant. Testing since 2014 has consistently detected PCE in raw water from all three active drinking wells and in groundwater at multiple locations across the town. The source of the contamination has not yet been identified.
EPA is currently wrapping up the remedial investigation phase. This work includes sampling soil, groundwater, and indoor air (a process called vapor intrusion testing) at commercial and residential areas throughout Spencer. The investigation started in September 2023. Throughout 2026, EPA plans to draft a remedial investigation report that will document the full nature and extent of contamination. That report will then feed into a feasibility study weighing different cleanup options.
A cleanup remedy is expected to be selected between September and November 2027, followed by a formal record of decision. Remedial design work is estimated to begin in late 2028. Right now, EPA does not have enough data to confirm whether human exposure is under control or whether contaminated groundwater is spreading. Construction on any cleanup has not yet started, and the site has not been removed from the National Priorities List.
The site has two operable units, OU1 and a sitewide unit, but no cleanup technologies have been formally selected yet. Key public documents are already available, including an EPA fact sheet on the remedial investigation, a community involvement plan, and hazard ranking system records. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has also completed a site inspection report for the location.
Community members can follow the process by reviewing public documents through EPA's Superfund records system. The EPA Community Involvement Coordinator and the Remedial Project Manager are available for questions.
