Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Pennsylvania
Lancaster County
1 mile southwest of Elizabethtown

EPA ID# PAD980539712

16th Congressional District

Last Update: January 2012

Other Names

United Disposal

Current Site Status

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved plans in June 2000 for three separate cleanup projects that need to be done at the Elizabethtown Landfill Site. The three measures were: 1) capping the uncapped portions of the landfill, 2) conducting additional groundwater and surface water studies to further define the extent of contamination at the Site, and 3) extracting and treating contaminated groundwater. In an agreement with EPA, five parties have accepted some responsibility for the cleanup and are currently in the process of implementing the recent plans. The first phase of the site cleanup, capping the uncapped portions of the landfill, began in June 2003 and was completed December 2003. A groundwater study began in 2004 and a groundwater monitoring report was submitted to EPA in February 2008. Routine groundwater monitoring continues. A Focused Feasibility Study for groundwater remediation alternatives is under development in 2012

EPA completed a Five-Year Review of the Site in June 2008. The purpose of the Five-Year Review is to determine if the remedy at the Site is protective of human health and the environment. The remedy at the Site could not be determined to be protective of human health and the environment because volatile organic compounds in the groundwater may represent a pathway for vapor intrusion into buildings. A vapor intrusion investigation for the Site was initiated in late 2011 and the VI pathway is expected to be evaluated in 2012.

Site Description

The 15-acre Elizabethtown Landfill Site, located in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is an unlined sandstone quarry that operated as an unlicensed sanitary landfill from about 1958 to 1973, accepting an unknown quantity of industrial and municipal wastes from surrounding communities. In 1985, EPA detected volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the chemical components of solvents and degreasers, and manganese in monitoring wells and a leachate stream emanating from the landfill area. In 1986, Waste Management, a potentially responsible party (PRP) for the Site, arranged to have the site covered with two feet of clay and six inches of topsoil. Additionally, vents were installed to control methane gas accumulation, and a leachate collection system to prevent contamination from moving away from the Site was also installed. A sedimentation basin also was constructed, and a drainage system to channel run-off to the basin was installed. An estimated 13,200 people obtain drinking water from public and private wells within three miles of the Site. A private well is 800 feet from the Site. The area surrounding the site is largely agricultural and rural. Conoy Creek, which is 800 feet down gradient of the Site, is used for recreational activities.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this Site is the responsibility of Federal and State governments, and parties potentially responsible for site contamination.

NPL Listing History

Our country's most serious, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites can be cleaned using federal money. To be eligible for federal cleanup money, a site must be put on the National Priorities List. This site was proposed to list on June 24, 1988 and formally added to the list March 31, 1989.

Threats and Contaminants

The groundwater contaminants include trichloroethene and its breakdown products. Leachate from the landfill is contaminated with VOCs, chemical components of solvents and degreasers; and has been seeping into Conoy Creek. Potential health threats include accidental intake of contaminated groundwater in the drinking water supply and direct contact with polluted surface waters.

Contaminant descriptions and risk factors are available from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC.

Cleanup Progress

In 1986, Waste Management arranged to have the Site covered with two feet of clay and six inches of topsoil. They also installed vents to control the migration of methane gas, a system to collect leachate, a sedimentation basin, and a drainage system to channel the surface water run-off to the basin.

In September 1990, the PRPs entered into a consent agreement with EPA to conduct studies of the site to determine the nature and extent of contamination. In 1999, the PRPs agreed to carry out the cleanup. The cleanup measures that EPA selected include capping the uncapped portions of the landfill, conducting additional groundwater and surface water studies to further define the extent of contamination at the site, and pumping and treating contaminated groundwater. Final design documents for the landfill cap and upgrade of the landfill gas extraction and flare systems were submitted to EPA in April 2002 and were approved. Construction of the cap and gas extraction upgrade began in June 2003, and was completed in December 2003. The groundwater study began in 2004 and a report was submitted to EPA in February 2008.

Contacts

Contacts

Administrative Record Locations