The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent proposal to remove part of a former landfill in Delaware from the agency's Superfund National Priorities List means cleanup is complete.
TAnApril 4 EPA news release announced the cleanup is complete on two parcels of the more than 50-acre Tybouts Corner Landfill in New Castle, Dela.
"Deleting sites from the NPL is a major milestone for Superfund impacted communities," EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz said. "An NPL deletion, and even a portion of a site, signals that cleanup is complete and the site no longer poses a threat to public health and the environment."
EPA's NPL contains the most contaminated hazardous waste sites identified in the country. EPA removes sites from its NPL once no further cleanup is deemed required to protect human health or the environment.
New Castle County Department of Public Works reportedly used the Tybouts Corner Landfill site as a municipal sanitary landfill and accepted industrial wastes from December 1968 to July 1971. Contamination was discovered in two drinking water wells in 1976 and 1983, according to the news release. The site was added to EPA's Superfund National Priorities List in 1983. EPA subsequently negotiated consent decrees "with numerous companies" for remedial design and remedial action, the release said.
Cleanup efforts included the installation of water lines to connect residents with affected wells to a local public water supply, construction of a landfill cap and installation of a groundwater extraction and a gas collection systems. Wildflowers and native grasses also have been planted on the site to stabilize the ground and prevent erosion on the landfill's cap.
The EPA determined actions are complete for the two parcels on Tybouts Corner Landfill based on evidence from cleanup activities, soil, and groundwater monitoring data, the release reported. The issues on the site are being addressed through federal and Potentially Responsible Party actions.
