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EPA Takes Nassau County Site (Syosset Landfill) off the Superfund List

Release Date: 06/06/2005
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For Release: Monday, June 6, 2005

(#05066) NEW YORK -- The health and environmental threats at the Syosset Landfill Superfund site in the Town of Oyster Bay, New York have been addressed, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking the site off the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The site was placed on the NPL in September 1983, and will remain eligible for remediation in the unlikely event that a change in site conditions would warrant additional cleanup work.

"Cleaning up landfills has always been a challenge, but today we can say that the Syosset Landfill cleanup is a real Superfund success story," said Acting EPA Regional Administrator Kathleen C. Callahan. "We have controlled the contamination, and we will continue to monitor the site to make sure that the community is being protected."

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 as a component of the overall operation and maintenance activities at the site. The Syosset Landfill covers approximately 38 acres and is 50 yards north of the Long Island Expressway in Syosset, New York. 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.

The notice of deletion of the Syosset Landfill Superfund site from the NPL was published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2005.

Related Links:
National Priorities List Sites in New York
NPL Site Narrative for Syosset Landfill