Groundwater Contamination Linked To Coronet PLANT CITY (WUSF) - The state Department of Environmental Protection says it has found several chemicals in test wells at the Coronet Phosphate Plant leaching into private drinking wells nearby. Deborah Getzoff is director of the DEP's Southwest Division.

GETZOFF: In terms of the constituents that we've identified here, which are gross alpha, sodium and boron, we are confirming based upon our belief from this data that they have groundwater violations at the property boundary, with those substances, and we believe these violations are related to the higher levels of these substances that we're seeing immediately south of that monitoring well location.

That location is near the intersection of Gentry and Cason roads.

GETZOFF: We have a concern, because of the fact that the constituents that we're seeing at this monitoring well, immediately south of Pond Six, which is a pond that's used in their process and has a number of contaminants in it, correlate with some of the contaminants that we're seeing in excessive numbers in the private drinking wells that are being sampled in the immediate vicinity.

Getzoff says Coronet officials refused to correct the problem, so DEP will give the company 15 days before initiating legal action. © Copyright 2012, WUSF