Black Hawk County, IA
The federal environmental record for Black Hawk County (population 130,471): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
1
Superfund NPL sites
3
federal cleanup sites
1
PFAS-detecting water systems
19
TRI facilities
17
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Coal Gasification Plant | Waterloo | proposed | - |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Black Hawk 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 |
|---|---|---|
| WATERLOO WATER WORKS IA0790074 | PFHxS: 13 ng/L PFPeA: 4.8 ng/L PFBS: 3.2 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
19 facilities in Black Hawk filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 484k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| JOHN DEERE WATERLOO WORKS DRIVETRAIN OPERATIONS AND FOUNDRY | WATERLOO | Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds | 263k lb |
| TYSON FRESH MEATS INC WATERLOO IOWA | WATERLOO | Ammonia, Peracetic acid | 97k lb |
| WATERLOO PROCESSING LLC | WATERLOO | Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Ammonia | 63k lb |
| BERTCH CABINET LLC | WATERLOO | Styrene | 24k lb |
| MASTERBRAND CABINETS WATERLOO OPERATIONS | WATERLOO | Xylene (mixed isomers), Methanol | 18k lb |
| CONAGRA FOODS PACKAGED FOODS LLC-WATERLOO | WATERLOO | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 10k lb |
| JOHN DEERE ENGINE WORKS | WATERLOO | Manganese, Lead | 4k lb |
| NORTHLAND PRODUCTS CO | WATERLOO | Zinc compounds, Ethylene glycol | 2k lb |
| VIKING PUMP INC. - SOUTH MAIN FACILITY | CEDAR FALLS | Manganese, Nickel | 2k lb |
| HYDRITE CHEMICAL CO. | WATERLOO | Ammonia, Certain glycol ethers | 1k lb |
| ADVANCED HEAT TREAT CORP. | WATERLOO | Ammonia | 452 lb |
| JOHN DEERE WATERLOO WORKS TCAO | WATERLOO | Zinc compounds, Manganese | 325 lb |
| O'NEAL MANUFACTURING SERVICES DBA IOWA LASER | CEDAR FALLS | Manganese, Nickel | 23 lb |
| KCNG IOWA LLC | WATERLOO | Lead | 3 lb |
| KCNG IOWA LLC | CEDAR FALLS | Lead | 2 lb |
| A-LINE E.D.S. | WATERLOO | - | 0 lb |
| KENT NUTRITION GROUP INC | WATERLOO | - | 0 lb |
| CURBTENDER INC | CEDAR FALLS | Lead | 0 lb |
| ADVANCED HEAT TREAT CORP | WATERLOO | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 449 tank facilities in Black Hawk: 230 tanks in service and 1,051 closed. 197 fuel releases are on record, of which 17 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Black Hawk as Zone 1, the highest predicted indoor radon levels (over 4 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 Black Hawk, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- RYDELL CHEVROLET INCWATERLOO
- VOC FORMER IMPERIAL CLEANERSWATERLOO
- WATERLOO COAL GASIFICATION PLANTWATERLOO