Merced County, CA
The federal environmental record for Merced County (population 291,920): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
1
Superfund NPL sites
2
federal cleanup sites
5
PFAS-detecting water systems
14
TRI facilities
35
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Air Force Base (6 Areas) | Merced | on the NPL | 07/22/1987 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Merced with at least one PFAS detection under UCMR5. The federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L; EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the limits for the other compounds, which are shown for information.
| System | Highest results | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| CITY OF ATWATER CA2410001 | PFHxS: 59 ng/L PFOS: 45 ng/L PFOA: 33 ng/L | above final limit |
| DELHI CWD CA2410006 | PFHxS: 8 ng/L PFOS: 7.3 ng/L | above final limit |
| PLANADA CSD CA2410007 | PFOS: 14.7 ng/L PFHxS: 6.5 ng/L PFBS: 3.7 ng/L | above final limit |
| CAL AM - MEADOWBROOK CA2410008 | PFOS: 8.3 ng/L | above final limit |
| CITY OF MERCED CA2410009 | PFHxS: 15 ng/L PFOS: 8.9 ng/L PFOA: 6.1 ng/L | above final limit |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
14 facilities in Merced filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 275k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOSTER FARMS LIVINGSTON COMPLEX | LIVINGSTON | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia | 155k lb |
| FINELINE INDUSTRIES LLC | MERCED | Styrene | 56k lb |
| HILMAR CHEESE CO | HILMAR | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia | 31k lb |
| CALIFORNIA DAIRIES INC LOS BANOS | LOS BANOS | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 11k lb |
| SAPUTO CHEESE USA INC | GUSTINE | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 7k lb |
| MB SPORTS | ATWATER | Styrene | 5k lb |
| E & J GALLO WINERY | LIVINGSTON | Ammonia | 3k lb |
| DOLE PACKAGED FOODS LLC | ATWATER | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 2k lb |
| GREIF PACKAGING LLC | MERCED | Certain glycol ethers | 2k lb |
| ATWATER FEDERAL PRISON | ATWATER | Lead | 2k lb |
| INGOMAR PACKING | LOS BANOS | Ammonia | 777 lb |
| O'KEEFFE | MERCED | Acrylamide | 1 lb |
| FOSTER FARMS COLLIER COMPLEX | DELHI | - | 0 lb |
| GALLO CHEESE PLANT | ATWATER | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 113 tank facilities in Merced: 333 tanks in service and 0 closed. 349 fuel releases are on record, of which 35 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Merced as Zone 3, the lowest predicted indoor radon (under 2 pCi/L average). Radon and air quality are covered in depth on lung.com.
The record for one specific address
County figures blur what matters: distance. The Address Environmental Report runs these same federal datasets against one address and reports every site, tank, polluter and water result around it, with distances, in about a minute.
Get the report - $39All federal cleanup sites on file
The wider Superfund enterprise inventory (SEMS) for Merced, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- CASTLE AIR FORCE BASE (6 AREAS)MERCED
- MERCED PHOSTOXINGUSTINE