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EPA Reaches Agreement With Polluters To Pay For Federal Superfund Action At Volney Landfill In Oswego County

Release Date: 06/24/1998
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(#98072) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with 34 companies, several municipalities and the County of Oswego to prevent the release of chemical contamination from the Volney Landfill, a federal Superfund site, and to treat the local groundwater. The cost of the remedy, which the federal government will oversee, is estimated at $7 million. The agreement will also require the responsible parties to reimburse EPA for past costs of Superfund work at the site, plus interest, for a total of $1.8 million. The agreement is embodied in a proposed Consent Decree that was lodged today by the U.S. Department of Justice in federal district court in Albany, NewYork on behalf of EPA.

"This agreement is particularly satisfying because we were dealing with many diverse parties, with long-standing and different concerns. Ultimately, we were able to reach a settlement that guarantees a cleanup that is protective of the local environment and public health and is paid for by the responsible parties," said EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox.

"The citizens of Oswego County should be pleased with this settlement," said Lois M. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for the Division of Environment and Natural Resources at the Justice Department. "It means cleaner water and a safer environment. And it means that those who have polluted the Volney Landfill will pay to clean it up."

The remedial actions at the site will include: supplemental capping of the side slopes of the landfill; collection of groundwater by extraction wells that will be operated on an as-necessary, intermittent basis; continued collection of leachate through an existing leachate collection system; off-site treatment of leachate and collected groundwater; and long-term monitoring.

Ms. Fox pointed out, "To ensure that public health and the environment continue to be protected, intermittent pumping will be performed whenever groundwater contamination levels are elevated."

The Volney landfill began operations in 1969. The landfill was initially owned and operated by the Oswego Valley Solid Refuse Disposal District, which was comprised of five member municipalities (City of Fulton, Village of Phoenix, and the Towns of Volney, Schroeppel, and Granby). In January 1975, the landfill was transferred to Oswego County and was operated by the County until the landfill was closed in 1983. The site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984.

The responsible parties that agreed to the settlement are comprised of the County, and other local governmental entities, industrial corporations that sent their wastes to the site, and corporations that sent drummed wastes to the Pollution Abatement Services (PAS) Superfund site in Oswego. The PAS Corporation, which has long been defunct, shipped the wastes to the Volney site.

For more information contact:
Richard Cahill, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3666 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: cahill.richard@epamail.epa.gov