Return to Use Initiative
2006 Demonstration Project
Yeoman Creek:
mois
THE SITE: The 70-acre Yeoman Creek Superfund site was a waste disposal site from 1959 until 1978, and
includes three landfills: Yeoman Creek Landfill, Edwards Field Landfill, and Rubloff Landfill. The landfills are
now owned by the Waukegan School District and the Waukegan Park District, with some portions of the site held
in private trusts. The landfills were not lined to prevent contamination from migrating, and contaminated leachate
has been seeping into Yeoman Creek since 1969. The selected remedy called for installing a flexible landfill cover
over all of the waste on-site, a landfill gas collection system, excavating sediment on-site, monitoring groundwater,
sediments, and air, and also included and consolidating sediments and soils under the cover on-site.
THE OPPORTUNITY: Although major construction activities were
finished in 2005, the site remained vacant and unutilized. The City of
Waukegan and Waukegan School District would like to see the site used
for passive recreation and community gardens.
THE BARRIERS: Members of the Yeoman Creek Remediation Group
(YCRG) are not in agreement about the future use of the site. While
some members believe the site's Record of Decision and Consent Decree
support recreational reuse at the site, other members have said the Consent
Decree would have to be modified in order for recreational uses to be
permitted. BFI, one of the Potentially Responsible Parties for the site, has
expressed concerns about remediation costs and liability issues associated
with potential future uses of the site.
Barriers:
Communication difficulties
between stakeholders; liability
concerns
Solution:
Encouraging and facilitating open
discussion between stakeholders;
identifying decision-making
authorities
•
THE SOLUTION: Region 5 solicited input from a contractor team familiar with facilitating dialogues between
stakeholders and overcoming barriers associated with the reuse of Superfund sites. The facilitation team
presented EPA with a number of next steps, including clarifying land-use planning authority. EPA will work
with local stakeholders to ensure that there are appropriate and effective institutional controls in place at the
site that accommodate reuse while remaining protective. Using experience gained at other sites, such as the
H.O.D. Landfill, a 2004 Return to Use demonstration project, EPA is exploring ways to address potential liability
concerns at the site.
THE SITE NOW: EPA will continue to facilitate discussions among
stakeholders and YCRG members in order to determine potential
challenges to reuse and ultimately, solutions to these challenges that will
return the site to use in a manner that is consistent with the site's cleanup
decision documents.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Tom Bloom, Region 5
Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, at (312) 886-1967 or
bloom.thomas@epa.gov
Before:
Underutilized landfills in an
area seeking new recreational
opportunities
After:
New recreational possibilities
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
updated August 2009
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