The Pools Prairie site (formerly referred to as the Neosho Wells site) is adjacent to Neosho, Newton County, Missouri, in southwest Missouri. The site was discovered in July 1994 by the Newton County Health Department (NCHD) through a citizen's complaint of gasoline contamination in the family's well located west of Highway 71 on Quince Road, southwest of the Neosho city limits. The citizen suspected gasoline contamination was coming from a truck plaza located immediately north of the citizen's house. In August 1994, subsequent sampling by NCHD and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) at the truck plaza, the family's well, and at other nearby residential wells determined that there were no leaking tanks at the truck plaza; however, eight volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including trichloroethylene (TCE) and carbon tetrachloride were found in the 10 private wells sampled. The most common VOC found in the wells and at the highest concentration was TCE. From August to December 1994, MDNR and NCHD continued to sample and resample residential wells in the area of Highway 71 and Quince Road. Additional residential wells were found to contain TCE, with some concentrations found above the TCE maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 parts per billion (ppb) in the area located along roads HH and TT and near the intersection of Highways 71 and 60.