EPA v. ONALASKA, TOWN OF

Case summary

THE TOWN OF ONALASKA (TOWNSHIP) OWNED AND OPERATED AND ELEVEN-ACRE LANDFILL (AKA BRICE PRAIRIE LAND & LYTLES DUMP) IN LA CROSSE COUNTY, WI. FROM 1969 TO 1980. THE SITE IS AN MPL AND WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE BLACK RIVER, NEAR WHERE IT MEETS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE LANDFILL ACCPTED RESIDEN- TIAL, COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES. THE SITE OPERATORS BURIED VARIOUS LABORATORY SOLVENTS FROM 1971 TO 1974 AND SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF NAPHTHA AND PTL-1009, A SYNTHETIC LUBRICANT, FROM 1975 TO 1978. THE EQUIVALENT OF 2,500 DRUMS OF SOLVENT WASTES ARE ESTIMATED TO HAVE BEEN DISPOSED OF ON SITE. ALTHOUGH THE LANDFILL WAS COVERED IN 1982, WASTE PRODUCTS ARE LEACHING THROUGH THE HIGHLY PERMEABLE SOIL IN THE AREA. SAMPLING BY THE WISCONSIN DNR HAS ESTABLISHED THAT GROUNDWATER AND A PRIVATE WELL ARE CONTAMINATED WITH VARIOUS ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. THE DNR ORDERED THE CLOSE OF THE LANDFILL IN 1980 DUE TO DOWN GRADIENT GROUNDWATER CON- TAMINATION. A LOCAL CITIZEN SUED THE TOWNSHIP FOR CONTAMIN- ATION OF HIS HOME WELL WHICH WAS LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE ONALASKA LANDFILL. THE LAWSUIT WAS FILED AGAINST THE TOWN- SHIP, OUTERS LABORATORIES, AND METALLICS, THE KNOWN WASTE CONTRIBUTORS. THE CASE WAS SETTLED AND THE TOWNSHIP AGREED TO DRILL A NEW WELL. THE CITIZEN HAS SINCE LEFT THE AREA. THE CONTAMINANT BARIUM, FOUND IN THE PRIVATE WELL WATER, WAS AN ISSUE IN THE LITIGATION BUT ITS SOURCE HAS NEVER BEEN PINPOINTED. A PRP SEARCH HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND INFORMATION REQUEST LETTERS SENT OUT TO THE IDENTIFIED PARTIES. - * * * PRN SUMMARY * * * PREVIOUSLY, THE LANDFILL HAD BEEN A SAND AND GRAVEL QUARRY. QUARRY OPERATIONS CEASED IN THE 1960'S AND THE TOWN OF ON- ALASKA THEN BEGAN TO DISPOSE MUNICIPAL WASTE THERE BETWEEN 1969 AND 1980. BOTH MUNICIPAL AND CHEMICAL WASTES, HOWEVER, HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE LANDFILL. A TWO-FOOT CLAY WAS TO HAVE PLACED ON THE LANDFILL IN 1980 AFTER DISPOSAL OPERATIONS CEASED, IAW THE CLOSURE REGULA- TIONS UNDER WI ADMINISTRATIVE CODE NR 181. THE CAP WAS COM- PLETED IN 1982. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE RI HAS SHOWN THAT THE CAP DOES NOT MEET THE STANDARDS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE, IN THAT IT IS ONLY 1-FOOT THICK IN SOME PLACES AND ALSO COMPOSED OF SAND IN CERTAIN AREAS. EVIDENCE OF FROST AND EROSIONAL DAM- AGES WAS UNCOVERED AS WELL. IN SEPTEMBER , 1982, THE WDNR DOCUMENTED CHEMICAL CONTAMI- NATION OF A LOCAL DRINKING WATER WELL. ONE LANDFILL MONITOR ING WELL SHOWED TOLUENE AT A CONCENTRATION OF 14.7 PPM (WELL ABOVE THE CURRENT STANDARD OF 2.0 PPM). THE USEPA INSPECTED THE SITE IN 1983, AND PLACED IT ON THE NAT'L PRIORITIES LIST IN 1984. - REMEDIAL ACTION THE USEPA, WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE WDNR, INITIATED A RI/ FS AT THE ONALASKA SITE IN APRIL 1988. A WORK PLAN WAS FINA LIZED IN SEPT. 1988, AND FIELD INVESTIGATIONS BEGAN IN MARCH 1989. SOIL AND GROUNDWATER SAMPLING PERFORMED DURING THE SPRING AND SUMMER (1989) INDICATE THATE THERE IS A LAYER OF NAPHTHA-DERIVED SOLVENTS AND OILS FLOATING UPON THE WATER TABLE. THIS FLOATING LAYER, WHICH EXTENDS ABOUT 150 FT BE- YOND THE EDGE OF THE LANDFILL TO THE SOUTH (STILL W/I THE TOWN PROPERTY, HOWEVER), IS A MAJOR SOURCE OF THE GROUND- WATER CONTAMINANT PLUME AT THE SITE. CHEMICALS IN THE PLUME INCLUDE CHLORINATED SOLVENTS AS WELL AS NON-HALOGENATED VOLA TILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS). THE PLUME APPEARS TO BE DIS- CHARGING TOWARD THE BLACK RIVER WETLANDS. THE GROUNDWATER PLUME WOULD PRESENT UNACCEPTABLE RISKS TO CONSUMERS IF THE WATER WAS USED AS A WATER SUPPLY. THERE ARE ABOUT 1000 DRUMS W/I THE LANDFILL, BUT THE FEW THAT WERE RECOVERED DURING THE RI WERE CRUSHED AND EMPTY. THE MAGNE- TIC ANOMALIES IN THE LANDFILL INDIC

Defendants (1)

• ONALASKA, TOWN OFNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• ONALASKA MUNICIPAL LANDFILL

  SPORTMAN RD, ONALASKA, WI, 54650

  Registry ID: 110009318041

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 104A — CERCLA 104(a)

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• ONALASKA TOWN OFentered 1996-12-18

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 1990-01-12PRN Sent
• 1994-09-27Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 1996-03-29Complaint Filed With Court
• 1996-12-18Final Order Lodged
• 1996-12-18Final Order Entered
• 1996-12-18Concluded
• 1997-08-28Enforcement Action Data Entered