An Equal Opportunity Employer <i) Recycled Paper 

INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 

We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment. 

100 N. Senate Avenue • Indianapolis, IN 46204 

(800) 451-6027 • (317) 232-8603 • www.idem.IN.gov 

Michael R. Pence Thomas W. Easterly 

Governor Commissioner 

May 8, 2014 

Ms. Susan Hedman 

Regional Administrator 

U.S. EPA, Region V R-19J 

77 West Jackson Boulevard 

Chicago, Illinois 60604-3507 

Dear Ms. Hedman: 

Re: Proposed Inclusion of the 

Kokomo Contaminated Ground Water 

Plume 

Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, 

on the National Priorities List of 

Hazardous Waste Sites 

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is providing this 

letter to convey its support to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. 

EPA) regarding inclusion of the Kokomo Contaminated Ground Water Plume site on the 

National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites. The Kokomo Contaminated 

Ground Water Plume (CERCUS ID number INN000510479) has contaminated the 

drinking water in several municipal wells in Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, with vinyl 

chloride. The contaminated plume extends from the center of Kokomo northward toward 

the municipal well field for the city of Kokomo. The vinyl chloride plume encompasses 

an area of approximately 294 acres and has contaminated the drinking water above 

U.S. EPA benchmarks in 5 municipal wells. 

The Indiana American Water Company (IAWC) operates the drinking water utility 

for the city of Kokomo. Raw water sample results taken by IAWC from the municipal 

wells have detected vinyl chloride at levels exceeding the Maximum Contaminant Limit 

(MCL) of 2.0 ppb between 2007 and 2010. IDEM has identified 15 potential sources of 

contamination to the well field, including sites in the Voluntary Remediation Program 

and RCRA Corrective Action program, but a definitive source of the contamination has 

not been identified. 
Ms. Susan Hedman 

Regional Administrator 

Page 2 of 2 

This site qualifies for .inclusion on the NPL because: 

1) The site meets the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 

Contingency Plan (NCP) criteria for listing on the NPL, scoring sufficiently 

high pursuant to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS). 

2) The site requires a long-term response action. 

An NPL listing would allow for proper and timely investigation of the nature and 

extent of the contamination of the potential sources and enable the U.S. EPA to 

determine cleanup alternatives for the impacted areas, thereby protecting human health 

and the environment. The NPL listing appears to be the most viable alternative for 

addressing the existing environmental problems. 

As the Commissioner of IDEM, I am authorized by Indiana Governor Michael 

Pence to act in these matters on his behalf. I have considered my staff's 

recommendations and I fully support the designation of the Kokomo Contaminated 

Ground Water Plume site for inclusion on the NPL. I request that the U.S. EPA assign a 

Remedial Project Manager and/or On-Scene Coordinator to implement the process. If 

you require any additional information or have any questions, please contact Mark 

Jaworski of the Site Investigation Program at 317/233-2407 or via e-mail at 

mjaworsk@idem.in.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Thomas W. Easterly 

Commissioner 

cc: Denise Boone, U.S. EPA 

Nuria Muniz, U.S. EPA 

Mark Jaworski, IDEM