Hastings Ground Water Contamination

Overview

This Superfund site covers seven subsites and 21 operable units in and around Hastings, Nebraska. It was added to the National Priorities List in 1986 after contamination from vapor degreasing operations, former landfills, a coal gas plant, an industrial park, and a grain elevator reached public and private water supplies. Cleanup is active and ongoing. Construction has not yet been completed, and the site has not been deleted from the National Priorities List, though a partial deletion is estimated for March through May 2026.

More than 100 contaminants have been identified across the site. These include chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, heavy metals including arsenic, lead, and cadmium, and explosives-related compounds such as trinitrotoluene and RDX. Most contamination occurs in groundwater, though some contaminants are also present in soil at specific locations.

Cleanup methods vary by subsite and include soil vapor extraction, air stripping, groundwater extraction and treatment, excavation, enhanced biodegradation, and landfill capping. At the Second Street Subsite, a thermal remediation system began operating in August 2024, finished treatment in October 2026, and achieved a 95% reduction in contaminants of concern, exceeding the 90% cleanup goal. That system is now being dismantled.

(NOTE: This summary was created with information pulled from the official EPA site profile page for this site as of May 29th, 2026, five months prior to the EPA's stated treatment completion of October 2026. As of June 11th, 2026, the site profile, including any publicly available documents, contain insufficient information for determining whether treatment at the Second Street Subsite has been, or is scheduled to be, completed by October 2026, or whether the thermal remediation system has been, or is actively being, dismantled.)

The groundwater extraction system at the Well No. 3 Subsite has been running since May 2003 and continues with twice-yearly monitoring. Treated groundwater from the former Naval Ammunition Depot subsite is reused to irrigate a city park and fill a manmade lake. The most recent five-year review was completed in July 2022 and found that remedies are protective of human health in the short term. The South Landfill Subsite still needs additional groundwater monitoring and vapor intrusion investigation before a full protectiveness determination can be made. EPA has determined that human exposure is under control and that contaminated groundwater is not discharging to surface water at unacceptable levels.

The former Naval Ammunition Depot, which covers more than 48,000 acres east of the city, now hosts the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Nebraska National Guard, Central Community College, private businesses, and a wetland management area. As of December 2024, 41 on-site businesses employed 1,701 people. Institutional controls, including zoning restrictions and a well-drilling ban, remain in place to prevent contact with remaining contamination.

A public comment period was held from March 4 - April 3, 2026. Community members were encouraged to submit comments on EPA's current proposal to delete two operable units, OU2 and OU10 in the North Landfill Subsite, from the National Priorities List. Site records are available at the Hastings Public Library at 314 North Denver Avenue. For questions, contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator.