The Capital City Plume (also sometimes spelled Capitol City Plume) is an area in downtown Montgomery previously designated by regulatory agencies where the groundwater (not a source of drinking water) in a 30 to 50 block area has previously showed the presence of several common urban contaminants. The groundwater in this area is generally 25-55 feet below land surface. Contaminants associated with the site to be further assessed include:

• PCE - perchloroethylene (dry cleaning solvent or cleaning agent) and its daughter products
• TCE - trichloroethylene (degreaser or cleaning agent)
• DCE - cis-1,2 – dichloroethylene

There are small amounts of these cleaning agents in the groundwater that may exceed regulatory levels in some places. Drinking water in Montgomery, including downtown, does not come from groundwater in the Capital City Plume area. There is no exposure to workers or residents downtown.

The City of Montgomery, Montgomery County, Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board, the State of Alabama and the Montgomery Advertiser formed the Downtown Environmental Alliance to complete the investigation, risk assessment and develop a remedial action plan (Institutional Controls Plan)  to address the Capital City Plume under an Agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). The selected remedy at the site includes groundwater monitoring and land use controls that restrict the use of groundwater in the downtown area under a City Ordinance, and land use for certain specific areas in the downtown area by Environmental Covenants and City Ordinance.

Please see the IC Map for more information.  Property Owners in the Downtown Environmental Overlay are eligible to place a General Environmental Covenant on their property to provide notice of the Capital City Plume to future property owners.

Frequently Asked Questions about ADEM’s Environmental Covenant Program are available, as well as a general environmental condition and due diligence letter about properties within the Downtown Environmental Overlay.  

On May 22, 2020, ADEM submitted a recommendation letter to EPA Region IV to de-propose the site from the National Priorities List.  Following their review, EPA Region IV concluded that the site was eligible for De-Proposal in a July 20, 2020 De-proposal memorandum.  On September 3, 2020, the formal request to withdraw the proposed listing was published in the Federal Register.

For more information on the Capital City Plume or to submit questions/comments, contact:

Montgomery City Attorney’s Office
334-625-2050
mgallagher@montgomeryal.gov

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