MILFORD RIVET AND MACHINE CO. ( MILFORD OR CO ) OPERATED A MANUFACTURING FACILITY FROM 1948 TO LATE 1980 WHICH PRODUCED SPECIALTY RIVETS AND FASTENERS IN HATBORO TWNSHP, PA. MILFORD IS A SUBSIDIARY OF THE RAYMARK CORP. OF TRUM- BULL, CT. IN LATE 1980, THE PENN FASTENER CORP. SUCCEEDED MILFORD AS THE OPERATOR OF THE FACILITY. IN OCT OF 1979, THE EPA BEGAN AN INVESTIGATION OF THE WATER SUPPLY CONTAMINATION BY TRICHLOROETHYLENE (TCE) IN HATBORO. SAMPLE ANALYSES OF PUBLIC DRINKING WATER WELLS IN THE AREA REVEALED TCE CONCENTRATIONS RANGING FROM 0 TO 500 PARTS PER BILLION (PPB). AS A RESULT OF HYDROGEOLOGIC AND AND SAMPLING STUDIES, POTENTIAL SOURCES OF TCE WERE FOUND. ON OCT 8, 1980, EPA FILED SUIT AGAINST ONE OF THE ALLEGED SOURCES, THE FISHER AND PORTER CO., SEEKING RELIEF FROM THE ALLEGED GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION. AS A RESULT OF FURTHER INVESTIGATION, THE MILFORD SITE WAS IDENTIFIED AS AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF TCE CONTAMINATION. EPA AND DOJ REPRESENTATIVES ATTEMPTED TO NEGOTIATE A SAMPLING PROGRAM AND CLEAN-UP PROPOSAL WITH MILFORD AND ITS PARENT COMPANY, RAYMARK. NEGOTIATIONS ARE AT A STANDSTILL AS OF 1/20/83. THE BASIS FOR EPA'S BELIEF THAT MILFORD IS A SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION IS THE RESULTS OF SAMPLING ANALYSES AND THE HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE AREA. ANALYSES OF SAMPLES FROM MILFORD WELLS SHOWED TCE CONCENTRATIONS IN EXC