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EPA Selects Long-Term Cleanup Action For Remaining Contamination At Federal Superfund Site in Sidney New York

Release Date: 10/01/1997
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(#97123) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it has selected a long-term remedy that will control the sources of contamination at the inactive Richardson Hill Road Landfill Superfund site in Sidney, New York. Tests of soils and sediments at the site found unsafe levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and volatile organic compounds.

"This a comprehensive solution to the long-term problems at the site," EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox said. "The most contaminated material will be removed and the contamination that remains on-site will be properly contained to protect the public and prevent further degradation of the environment. These actions would not be possible without a strong federal Superfund program."

The cleanup action plan, which will cost about $13.9 million to carry out, calls for the excavation of contaminated soils and sediments near the landfill down to safe levels. The most contaminated material will be disposed of properly off-site, the moderately contaminated material will be placed in a new, on-site disposal cell and the lesser contaminated material will be consolidated and placed under a proper landfill cap. A leachate (liquid seepage) collection system will also be installed. Contaminated groundwater will be addressed through the construction and operation of a system that extracts and treats the water. Under the proposal, the landfill will be fenced and locally-enforced restrictions on the use of groundwater will be put in place. Long-term monitoring of groundwater, surface water, fish and sediments is also included in the plan.

The actual cleanup work will not begin until negotiations with the parties responsible for the contamination to undertake the selected actions are completed, design of the remedy is finalized and a contract to perform the construction work is awarded.

In 1993, the responsible parties, the Allied Signal Company and Amphenol Corporation, acting under an EPA Superfund Order, excavated 2,200 cubic yards of contaminated sediments from a pond adjacent to the site and installed systems to prevent the migration of contamination in surface water and to purify drinking water at two nearby residences. This summer, two additional contaminated wells were identified. The responsible parties are making bottled water available to these residents, while the design of the treatment systems is underway.

EPA held an August 13, 1997 public meeting in Sidney to discuss the cleanup plan in detail and solicited comments during a public comment period that ended on August 26. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reviewed the plan and has agreed with EPA's decision.