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EPA to Review Cleanup Progress at the Old Southington Landfill Superfund Site

Release Date: 06/08/2005
Contact Information:

Contact: Sheryl Rosner, EPA Office of Public Affairs, (617) 918-1865, rosner.sheryl@epa.gov

For Immediate Release: June 8, 2005; Release #sr050606

Boston--The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it is reviewing the performance of cleanup technologies in place at the Old Southington Landfill on Old Turnpike Road in Southington, CT.

The five-year review is generally performed five years following the initiation of a Superfund response action and is repeated every succeeding five years at sites where waste has been capped in place and use of the site remains restricted. The review is a comprehensive evaluation of the site remedy which will include an evaluation of the results of the ongoing sampling and monitoring activities to assess the performance of the cleanup systems. EPA will also talk with local Southington officials and citizens to gain a better understanding of local concerns.

The review team will evaluate the information gathered and then make a determination as to whether the remedy is protective or not protective of public health and the environment. After completion of these activities, EPA will issue a Five-Year Review Report summarizing the findings with respect to the site. EPA's five year review process ensures that the cleanup systems remain protective of public health.

The Old Southington Landfill is an 11-acre site that was used from the 1920s until 1967 as a municipal disposal area for Southington residents and businesses. After the landfill was closed in 1967, the landfill site was subdivided and sold for residential and commercial development. Several residential and commercial structures were built on the Site and on adjacent areas. In 1979, a nearby municipal well was closed because groundwater analyses indicated the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at levels that exceeded State standards. The well was permanently closed and the subsequent Superfund investigation led to an interim cleanup plan that was completed in September 2001. The Source Control Remedy consisted of permanent relocation of all on-site buildings, construction of a landfill cap over the entire Site, consolidation of a highly contaminated area in a lined cell underneath the cap and above the water table, installation of a soil gas collection system, and implementation of a long term monitoring program for groundwater and soil gas.

Ongoing monitoring of groundwater and soil gas in and around the landfill cap to determine its effectiveness has been conducted since the construction was completed in 2001. Groundwater and soil gas data are currently being analyzed to determine how far contamination in the groundwater has traveled from the site and whether or not it may be adversely impacting any down gradient areas. EPA, in consultation with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, expects to propose a final groundwater remedy in 2006.

Information about cleanup activities at the Old Southington Landfill Superfund Site (www.epa.gov/region1/superfund/sites/oldsouthington). EPA technical reports and documents are available for public review in the site information repository located at the Southington Public Library, 255 Main Street in Southington, CT.

Related Information:
Old Southington Landfill Superfund Site
Cleanup Process
Cleanup in New England
VOCs