The Site consists of an active commercial laundry facility and a former dry cleaner, with a tetrachloroethylene (PCE) groundwater plume that has impacted two of the city of Sikeston’s public drinking water wells. The Site was referred to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) for a removal action to address risk to public wells and potential vapor intrusion. On November 25, 2024, the EPA entered into an enforcement order with Vestis Services, LLC (Vestis), the responsible party for the site. The enforcement order requires Vestis to perform work including 1) mitigate public drinking water impacts, 2) delineate groundwater contamination, 3) assess and mitigate vapor intrusion, and 4) implement institutional controls. On December 18, 2024, an Enforcement Action Memorandum was approved authorizing a removal action at the site. The objective of the removal action will be to prevent exposure of nearby populations to PCE and related chemicals present at the Site.
The city of Sikeston’s public drinking water wells #8 (CW-08) and #13 (CW-13) have been impacted by the site. CW-08 has had detections of PCE since quarterly monitoring was required in 2006 and on two occasions in 2009, PCE levels exceeded the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level of 5.0 micrograms per liter (ug/L). CW-13 was installed in 2013 and PCE was subsequently detected in the well in April and October 2021. PCE and related chlorinated breakdown products have been reported in treated water from Water Treatment Plant #3 beginning in October 2021. CW-08 was taken out of service in May 2024 due to a lightning strike. In January, 2025, the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities (BMU) began conducting test well installation to identify new public drinking water well locations.
Groundwater sampling conducted by Vestis has identified an area of impacted groundwater with PCE and associated degradation products. Groundwater sampling is ongoing to evaluate potential for exposure to nearby populations.
Vapor intrusion has previously been identified as an issue at the Vestis facility and a soil vapor extraction system was installed as a mitigation effort. Additional vapor intrusion sampling is planned at nearby potentially impacted facilities at the site. The next round of vapor intrusion sampling is scheduled to begin in June 2025.
In May, 2025, EPA approved the Removal Work Plan, which details the technical plan for the site work.
