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EPA Proposes to Remove Nassau County Site (Syosset Landfill) From the Superfund List

Release Date: 03/03/2005
Contact Information:

For Release: Thursday, March 3, 2005

(#05017) NEW YORK - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed cleanup work at the Syosset Landfill Superfund site in Oyster Bay, New York, and is proposing to delete the site from the National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites. The site was placed on the NPL in September 1983, and will remain eligible for cleanup in the unlikely event that a change in site conditions would warrant such an action.

"EPA and the town of Oyster Bay worked diligently on the cleanup of the Syosset Landfill, and today we have reached a milestone," said Acting EPA Regional Administrator Kathleen C. Callahan. "We will continue to monitor the site to make sure that the community is being protected."

The Syosset Landfill covers approximately 38 acres and is 50 yards north of the Long Island Expressway. The landfill is owned by the town of Oyster Bay, which operated it from approximately 1933 to 1975. Types of wastes disposed of in the landfill include heavy metals, solvents, organic chemicals, plasticisers and polychlorinated biphenyls.

EPA selected a cleanup approach for the site in September 1990, which included capping and closing the landfill, performing long-term environmental monitoring of the ground water, maintaining the existing gas venting system, and restricting the site's future uses. In accordance with a 1991 agreement between EPA and the town, Oyster Bay designed and constructed a synthetic cap over the landfill, upgraded an existing system for venting landfill gas, and implemented controls on the future uses of the site. Additionally, the town continues to monitor ground water quality.

The public comment period on EPA's proposal to delete the Syosset Landfill from the NPL started on February 15 and ends on March 16, 2005. Copies of site-related documents are available for public review at:

Syosset Public Library,
225 South Oyster Bay Road,
Syosset, New York.

Sherrel D. Henry, Remedial Project Manager,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2,
290 Broadway, 20th Floor,
New York, New York 10007-1866.