EPA studies pollution in Yakima water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is tackling groundwater contamination in the Lower Yakima Valley.

The EPA action is prompted by Yakima Herald-Republic articles last month about the failure to remedy long-standing problems of nitrates contaminating small private wells.

Nitrate is an odorless compound found in soil and water. It builds up on fields that are treated with both fertilizer and manure from dairies.

Many families in the Lower Valley have been driven to buy drinking water after finding their wells contained nitrates in excess of the federal limit of 10 milligrams per liter

The EPA plans a meeting next month to examine ways to address the groundwater contamination.

EPA Regional Director Elin Miller says the agency is organizing an effort involving the state departments of Health, Ecology and Agriculture, the federal Indian Health Service and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakima-herald.com