EPA review indicates IEL site getting cleaner
The Canton Repository
LAKE TWP - Federal officials are satisfied that nature is taking the proper course in cleanup efforts at the Industrial Excess Landfill.
A five-year review shows that nine chemical compounds continue to be detected at the site, with three compounds exceeding safe drinking water levels. Methane gas levels have decreased to the point that a methane venting system no longer needs to be used.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted the review, which is required under a plan to clean up the landfill site.
Officials said they found no surprises. "We believe it's cleaning up as expected," said Tim Fischer, EPA's remedial project manager for the landfill.
The results didn't surprise advocates who have fought for a more extensive cleanup of the site.
"It's not at all surprising that they've come up with a self-fulfilling review," said Chris Borello, who leads Concerned Citizens of Lake Township.
SEALED WELLS AT ISSUE
Since 1997, there haven't been checks and balances because testing has been supervised by the companies that used the landfill, Borello said.
She complained that the U.S. EPA's final plan for the landfill cleanup included sealing 33 wells at the site. Those wells had the most contamination, she said.
Lake Township Trustee Ellis Erb said he anticipated a favorable report and discounted Borello as a spokesperson against the site.
Erb said he was pleased to hear the study indicates that cleanup efforts have been successful. "I'm happy it's about over."
Federal officials opted several years ago to cover the site and let the chemicals buried there break down naturally.
The decrease in methane gas and chemicals found in groundwater indicates the process is working, Fischer said.
About 30 monitoring wells near the landfill are used to collect water samples. The U.S. EPA sealed the 33 wells, and replaced them with fewer new ones as part of the cleanup plan.
CHEMICALS FOUND
Two wells showed high concentrations of three chemicals - vinyl chloride and two forms of dichloroethene. One of the wells showing higher levels is a new well installed as part of the cleanup plan, Fischer said.
The EPA reviewed information on water samples collected in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Fischer said no information was available on samples collected this year. That data will be included when the government conducts a five-year review in 2011.
Testing of water and air at the site will continue.
Government officials still are trying to secure an easement on the property to prevent future construction, digging or drawing drinking water from the site. Officials hope to have the easement in place by next summer.
INDUSTRIAL EXCESS LANDFILL BACKGROUND
The Industrial Excess Landfill opened in 1966 at the site of an abandoned sand and gravel quarry. The landfill accepted industrial, commercial and municipal waste until it closed through a court order in 1980. In 1984, the landfill became a Superfund site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initially wanted to cover the site with a clay cap. That plan changed in the late 1990s. Trees have been planted at the site. Monitoring wells are used to test water, and a system also monitors methane gas coming from the site.
