Newton County Wells

Overview

Newton County Wells is a Superfund site in Joplin, Missouri, listed on the National Priorities List in July 2000. It sits in Newton County and is also known as Silver Creek. The site reached a significant milestone in March 2010 when it was deemed ready for anticipated reuse, meaning cleanup goals for current and future land uses have been met. Physical construction of the cleanup is complete across the entire site. The site remains on the National Priorities List, as formal deletion has not yet occurred.

Contamination traces back to FAG Bearings, a ball bearing manufacturing plant that used trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial degreasing chemical, from 1972 to 1982. A spill in 1983 sent residual TCE into a utility trench. By 1991, TCE and cis-1,2-dichloroethene showed up in private drinking water wells serving the Villages of Silver Creek and Saginaw at levels above EPA limits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified five groundwater contaminants of concern: 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroethene (vinyl chloride), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, trans-1,2-dichloroethene, and trichloroethene.

Early response actions included distributing bottled water to affected residents until public water connections were completed in July 1994. From 2002 to 2003, crews used chemical oxidation to treat contaminated soil in the most heavily affected area. Soil was also excavated from other parts of the FAG Bearings property. The cleanup strategy, finalized in a Record of Decision in September 2004, relies on monitored natural attenuation, where contamination breaks down over time through natural processes, combined with institutional controls that block new domestic well installations in contaminated zones. Groundwater remedial action began in December 2006, with operation and maintenance activities starting in October 2009. The April 2024 Five-Year Review confirmed the remedy is currently protective of human health and the environment, though additional chemical oxidation injections may be needed at the source area for long-term effectiveness.

Missouri's Department of Natural Resources backs up cleanup protections through state regulation 10 CSR 23-3.090, now designated as Area 11, which restricts domestic well installation into contaminated portions of the Mississippian Aquifer. Revised rules effective February 28, 2019 set conditions for any new well drilling near the site and require proper casing to prevent mixing of contaminated and uncontaminated aquifers. One business currently operates on-site, employing 293 people and generating about $4.6 million in annual sales. Community members with questions can reach the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Shaylee Borcsani, or Remedial Project Manager Snehal Bhagat directly by phone or email.