Federal funds dedicated to help clean up polluted Superfund site in Maries County

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A polluted hat factory with water wells in Maries County is one of two EPA Superfund sites to get a share of $1 billion in federal money being used nationwide for cleanup of such sites.

The old hat factory sits on a 7.9-acre Superfund site in Vienna that includes two public drinking wells contaminated by the factory's operations. Two companies operated on the site from 1952 to 1996, contaminating the soil and groundwater with harmful compounds called PCEs which are believed to contribute to cancer.

The EPA said in a news release that it plans to clean up the contaminated soil at the site, which will stop the chemicals from leaching into groundwater.

The Superfund designation was established under a 1980 law that dedicates money to help clean up polluted sites when their owners won't. The new funding is part of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure law, according to the EPA.

The other Missouri site designated for funding is an old metal stamping and tool and die shop in Valley Park, in eastern Missouri.