USEPA was referred this ground water contamination site by IEPA Bruce Everetts in December of 2011. Two homes had been identified in a sampling effort by IEPA and IDPH in November 10, 2011.
USEPA sampled the two homes in December of 2011 to confirm the issue and detected similar compounds in the private well. The benzene levels in the private wells exceeded the removal action levels. The two residential homes were placed on bottled water and the data was sent to the residents.
Two additional homes were sampled in January of 2012 that had requested USEPA's assistance. The analytical from these samples showed that one of the wells was above the removal action level for Benzene.
US EPA has received past files from IEPA and LaSalle County and Illinois Deptartment of Public Health. A similar issue had been seen in close proximity back in 1988-1989 where 8 private wells has seen high levels of benzene and other Volatile compouds. These residents were hooked into a deeper well and the funding for this connection was paid for by the Illinois Commerce Commission
