EPA v. ALGOMA, CITY OF

Case summary

THE ALGOMA MUNICIPAL LANDFILL (AMLF) IS FORMER MUNICIPAL LANDFILL LOCATED APPROX. THREE MILES WEST OF ALGOMA, WI. IN THE TOWN OF AHNAPEE IN KEWAUNEE COUNTY, WI. THE AMFL OCCU- PIES A TOTAL OF 13 ACRES OF DISPOSAL AREA. THE CITY OF ALGO MA OPERATED THE LANDFILL FROM 1969 TO 1983, DURING WHICH TIME THE LANDFILL ACCEPTED RESIDENTIAL, MUNICIPAL AND INDUC- TRIAL WASTES AFTER SEPTEMBER 10, 1980 AND ALL MUNICPAL AND WATES AFTER JULY, 1981. THE CITY LEASED THE LANDFILL PROPER TY CONSISTING OF APPROX. SEVEN ACRES DURING THE TIME OF OPERATION FRON CLARENCE AND MARY KROHN UNTIL 1975. THE PRO- PERTY WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SOLD TO DUMMAN REALTY, ITS PRESENT OWNER, WHICH LEASED THE LANDFILL TO THE CITY UNTIL THE LAND- FILL WAS CLOSED ON JULY 31, 1983. APPROX. 400,000 CUBIC YARDS OF WASTE ARE CONTAINED WITHIN THE WASTE BOUNDARY. THE MAIN PORTION OF THE LANDFILL HAS BEEN DESIGNATED THE LANDFILL DISPOSAL AREA (LDA). THE LDA, APPROX. 10 ACRES, WAS COVERED BY A LAYER OF CLAY AND TOPSOIL AND VEGETATED FOLLOWING ITS CLOSURE IN 1983. A SMALLER FILL AREA NORTH DISPOSAL AREA (NDA). THE NDA IS APPROX. 1 ACRE AND HAS NO COVER. WASTE IN THE NDA IS BELIE- VED TO CONSIST ONLY OF CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS. THE THIRD FILL AREA, DESIGNATED THE SOUTH DISPOSAL AREA (SDA), IS LOCATED SOUTH OF THE LDA. THE SDA IS APPROX. 1.5 ACRES AND IS BELIEVED TO CONSIST PRINCIPALLY OF CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS. ASBESTOS-CONTAINING WASTES MAY HAVE BEEN DISPOSED IN THE SDA. EMPLOYEES OF THE AMLF SITE HAVE INDICATED THE EXISTENCE OF A FOURTH FILL AREA, DESIGNATED THE ANIMAL DISPOSAL AREA (ADA), WHICH, THEY MAINTAIN, WAS A FILL AREA ADJACENT TO THE LDA USED BY THE STATE OF WISCONSIN FOR ANIMAL CARCASSES. THE BOUNDARIES OF THIS AREA WERE NEVER VERIFIED BY AERIAL PHOTOS OR GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS, BUT IT IS ESTIMATED TO BE APPROX. ONE HALF AN ACRE. THE ADA WILL BE CONSIDERED PART OF THE LDA. ACCORDING TO DOCUMENTATION AND INTERVIEWS, SOLVENTS, THIN- NERS AND LACQUERS WERE DEPOSITED AT THE SITE DURING ITS TIME OF OPERATION. THE CURRENT COVER, WHICH WAS CONSTRUCTED IAW THE 1983 STANDARDS OF THE WISCONSIN DEPT. OF NATURAL RESOUR- CES (WDNR), HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO FREEZE-THAW DEGRADATION OVER THE YEARS AND DOES NOT CONFORM TO CURRENT WDNR STANDARDS. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE LANDFILL WASTE REACHES A DEPTH OF 32 FT. AND IS LOCATED WITHIN THE GROUNDWATER IN A FEW AREAS. SAND AND GRAVEL DEPOSITS UNDERLIE AND SURROUND THE LANDFILL. BECAUSE OF THIS POROUS ENVIRONMENT, CONTAMINANTS CAN READILY ESCAPE OFF-SITE UNLESS A MORE IMPERMEABLE COVER IS CONSTRUC- TED TO PREVENT PERCOLATION OF WATER THROUGH THE WASTE TO THE GROUNDWATER. IN 1984, THE WDNR SUBMITTED A POTENTIAL HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT TO THE USEPA DUE TO GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION DOWNGRADIENT FROM THE SITE. MONITORING WELLS SHOWED THAT GROUNDWATYER FLOWS TO THE EAST-SOUTHEAST OVER MOST OF THE SITE, EXCEPT THAT WATER BENEATH THE NORTHWESTERN PORTION OF THE SITE APPARENTLY FLOWS TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST. MONITORING REVEALED THAT CADMIUM WAS DETECTED IN CONCENTRA TIONS EXCEEDING THE FEDERAL SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL (MCL) (THE FEDERAL DRINKING WATER STAN- DARDS) FOR CADMIUM. IRON AND MANGANESE WERE FOUND TO EXCEED FEDERAL SECONDARY MCLS, WHICH ARE NOT ENFORCEABLE. BENZENE, IRON AND MANGANESE CONCENTRATIONS EXCEEDED STATE OF WISCON- SIN CHAPTER NR 140 GROUNDWATER QUALITY ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS (ES) IN SEVERAL OBSERVATION WELLS NEAR THE DISPOSAL AREA. DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF THESE CONTAMINANTS, THE AMLF WAS NOMI NATED BY THE USEPA ON JUNE 10, 1986 FOR INCLUSION ON THE NATL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL) BASED ON A HAZARDOUS RANKING SYS- TEM (HRS) SCORE OF 39.99 ABOVE THE 28.5 USEPA CUTOFF, AND WAS LISTED ON THE NPL IN JULY, 1987

Defendants (1)

• ALGOMA, CITY OFNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• ALGOMA MUNICIPAL LANDFILL

  SEC32 T25N R25E TOWN OF AHNAPEE, ALGOMA, WI, 54201

  Registry ID: 110009319816

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107 — Superfund
• CERCLA 106 — Imminent & Substantial Endangerment Order
• CERCLA 122 — Superfund

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• ALGOMA, CITY OFentered 1992-03-25

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (8 milestones)

• 1990-06-23Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 1990-12-31PRN Sent
• 1991-09-25Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 1991-12-06Complaint Filed With Court
• 1992-03-25Final Order Entered
• 1992-03-25Concluded
• 1992-03-25Final Order Lodged
• 1998-04-30Enforcement Action Closed