The Environmental Protection Agency released an updated Administrator’s Emphasis List of Superfund sites that now includes Sand and Gravel, New Castle.
The Delaware Sand & Gravel Landfill site was added to the list to spur action on cleanup and redevelopment efforts, according to an EPA release.
“We are making tremendous progress expediting sites through the entire Superfund remediation process,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt stated in the release. “The updated Emphasis List reflects our commitment to addressing Superfund sites as quickly and safely as possible.”
The EPA issued a Record of Decision Amendment at the Delaware Sand and Gravel Landfill site in December 2017 to address groundwater contamination.
The site is being placed on the list to assist in an enforcement strategy for quick implementation of the remedy by potentially responsible parties to address groundwater contamination before water supply wells are impacted, the release stated.
According to the EPA the 27-acre landfill site, between 1968 and 1976, accepted municipal and industrial wastes including drums containing organic and inorganic chemicals.
Clean-up activities have been ongoing.
In 1995, a $40 million settlement was announced. The money came from 31 companies that sent the drums to the landfill and was used to deal with contamination at the site. Companies listed include DuPont, Chrysler, and General Motors.
A release at the time noted that athe site was “found to contain a virtual who’s who of hazardous substances including benzene, arsenic and other carcinogens.”
Since 2000, Artesian Water Co. has been treating water from its Llangollen well field with carbon to remove a chemical which has been traced to the Delaware Sand & Gravel Landfill Site.
In 2014, Artesian installed a system at the Llangollen well field to remove another contaminant from the Delaware Sand & Gravel site, the EPA release noted.
The News Journal reported late last year that the EPA filed a suit against the owner of the property where the Superfund site is located regarding activities of a salvage yard.
