The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed placing a surface spring in Salt Lake City on its national priorities list of potential hazards under the Superfund cleanup process.

In August 2010, Salt Lake City discovered low levels of the industrial solvent perchloroethylene (PCE) in spring water between 800 South and 1000 South from 1100 East to 1300 East.

Mayor Ralph Becker, the Salt Lake Valley Health Department and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality support a thorough EPA investigation of contamination of the spring, according to a statement Monday from the mayor's office.

Salt Lake City's public drinking water supply is not connected or affected by the springs, according to city officials.

In May 2010, the EPA and DEQ confirmed the presence of PCE in the springs and concluded that it is likely connected to a PCE groundwater plume near 700 South and 1600 East.

That plume was discovered in the 1990s in an irrigation well at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

As a precaution, Salt Lake City removed its drinking water well in the vicinity from the city water system, according to the mayor's office.

The full extent of the PCE plume remains unknown, but it is estimated to be as large as 300 acres and could continue to spread.

State and local agencies do not have the funds to analyze the migration or the risk to the community, according to a prepared statement. As such, the city, Health Department and DEQ have made official their support for placing the plume on the national priorities list.

A final determination on whether the site gets listed will be made in April 2013. —

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