Water Protection Activities in Washtenaw County

Well restricted areas or well first areas can be implemented to
assure that new wells are not affected by contamination plumes
associated with some Part 201 sites. Creating these prohibition
zones is one way to limit the exposure pathways. The well
prohibition areas in Washtenaw County are shown on Map 2.
By the end of 2008, the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality is projected to deplete the $1.3 billion
raised in two bond issues approved by voters in the last 20
years, which fund the Part 201 contaminated site cleanup and
response activities. Unless a new source of funding is made
available, the cleanup and response efforts at existing Part 201
contamination sites are in jeopardy of being phased out.
Next Steps:
Depleted funding jeopardizes the groundwater in Washtenaw
County and elsewhere. Steps should be taken to secure the
future funding for Part 201 response activities.
Figure 3: Armen Cleaners Response - Soil Sampling
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Part 201 Response Example: Armen Cleaners
Armen Cleaners is an Ann Arbor based dry-cleaning
company that has been providing services in Ann Arbor
since the 1950’s. Historic on-site disposal of
perchloroethylene (PERC) lead to it becoming a Part 201
site. Their main location in downtown Ann Arbor has a
plume of PERC that results from the prior releases of the
contaminant onsite. While research conducted by the EPA
in conjunction with State and local government suggests
that indoor air quality is the primary challenge faced by
the Armen PERC plume, this site is a noteworthy example
of the level of attention and site evaluation that has been
conducted with areas of known or perceived
contamination.
Washtenaw County partnered with the City of Ann Arbor,
the State of Michigan, and the EPA to collect data and
conduct research regarding the possible exposure
pathways associated with Armen Cleaner’s PERC plume.
The results of this evaluation determined that there is
minimal immediate risk posed by the groundwater
contamination. In September 2005, the MDEQ authorized
$525,000 to address contamination from the dry cleaning
operation at Armen Cleaners. This money is part of a $3
million appropriation for work at this site.