United States
Environmental Proection
Agency
Water Collection Improvements
Proposed for Landfill Cleanup
Share your opinions
EPA invites your comments on this
proposed cleanup plan for PCB-
contamination coming from Neal's
Landfill. Your input is important. EPA
may modify its recommendations based
on information and comments from area
residents.
Public Comment Period
July 6 - Sept. 17 (midnight
postmark), 2007
You may fill out and return the enclosed
form, or you may mail, fax or e-mail
your comments to:
Thomas Alcamo
EPA Remedial Project Manager
EPA Region 5 (SR-6J)
77 W.Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Phone:312-886-7278
Fax:312-886-4071
E-mail: alcamo.thomas@epa.gov
Share your views and ask
questions at the public
meeting:
August 7, from 6:30-9 p.m.
Monroe County Public Library
303 E. Kirkwood, Bloomington, Ind.
During the meeting, EPA will explain
the proposed cleanup plan for Neal's
Landfill. After the presentation, the
public may comment on the project
or ask questions. A court reporter will
record the meeting and all comments.
People can also submit their written
comments at the meeting. If you
have any questions or need special
accommodations for the meeting
contact:
Dave Novak
EPA Community Involvement
Coordinator
800-621-8431 Ext. 67478
novak.dave@epa.gov
Meal's Landfill
Bloomington, Indiana
July 2007
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to modify the current cleanup
plan for the Neal's Landfill Superfund site by making improvements in the
water collection system while continuing to operate a previously constructed
water treatment plant. The amended cleanup plan also proposes to dig up
contaminated soil and mud (sediment) in and along a small stream called
Conard's Branch. Maintaining the treatment plant, improving the collection
system and removing additional soil and sediment will reduce the levels of
a hazardous chemical compound called polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.
Electrical capacitors disposed of in Neal's Landfill 40 years ago contained
PCBs that leaked and soaked into underground water supplies that feed
Conard's Branch, which flows north into the larger Richland Creek. This
proposed cleanup plan is designed to reduce the amount of PCBs present in
the water, mud and soil near the landfill.
Those PCBs are settling into Conard's Branch where they are consumed
by fish. After extensive tests, EPA and state partner Indiana Department of
Environmental Management concluded the PCBs pose a health risk to people
who eat fish caught from the downstream Richland Creek or who are exposed
to soil and mud around that creek and Conard's Branch. Animals are also at
risk when they eat fish from both Richland Creek and Conard's Branch.
EPA evaluated seven options for reducing the amount of PCBs contained
in underground water flowing from Neal's Landfill. The seven alternatives
are described in more detail later in this fact sheet. EPA examined the costs
and effectiveness of the seven ground-water alternatives and announced
its recommended choice would be a $1.6 million option that calls for
the new collection system and rerouting a water discharge pipe from the
current treatment plant. The Agency also proposed one workable alternative
- excavation ~ for reducing PCB levels in soil and mud near the landfill.
Excavation would cost $1.2 million.
EPA will pick one of the seven ground water cleanup options as its final
cleanup plan after an extended public comment period and a public meeting.
The selected cleanup plan will be announced with a local newspaper notice
and in an EPA document called record of decision amendment or ROD
amendment.1
The public will also get a chance to discuss these proposed cleanup
changes at a public meeting Aug. 7 at the Monroe County Public Library
in Bloomington, and people will have until Sept. 17, 2007 to file written
comments about the proposed plan (see P. 1 box for more details). EPA could
1 Section 117 (a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA known as the Superfund law) and Section 300.430(f)(2) of the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan require public participation in the process of approving a
proposed ROD amendment. This fact sheet summarizes the technical documents about the ground water,
soil and sediment cleanup that are available for viewing at the official site repository located in the
Monroe County Public Library.
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Section B
Section Pre-A
Sampling location on
Richland Creek about
3 miles south near
Hendricksville
LEGEND
FENCE
STREAM (ARROW INDICATES FLOW DIRECTION)
STREAM SEDIMENT. WATER. OR FISH SAMPLING LOCATION
SPRING OR SEEP
SOURCE: Modified from McLaren/Hart Chemrlsk 199S
250* 0 250' 50Q'
SCALF: 1" -_500'
alter the proposed changes further or even choose a new
plan based on public comments so it is important your
voice is heard.
Health risks to people and the
environment
Health risks from Neal's Landfill are primarily to people
who eat PCB-contaminated fish from Richland Creek
or who come in contact with contaminated mud and soil
around the creek or Conard's Branch. Contact can come
from touching or accidentally swallowing contaminated
mud or soil. PCBs are classified as probable human
carcinogens. Conard's Branch contains only small fish
that would not be consumed by humans, but bigger more
edible fish swim in downstream Richland Creek. Scientists
who studied Neal's Landfill concluded that over a lifetime,
a person who regularly eats fish from the stretches of
Richland Creek near the landfill or comes in contact
with mud and water from there could face a slightly
elevated risk of developing cancer. Another health threat
comes from the slightly higher-than-average chances of
experiencing non-cancer conditions caused by a lifetime
of eating PCB-tainted fish from Richland Creek. PCBs
cause problems in the immune, reproductive, nervous and
endocrine systems of humans. Children are especially
susceptible to the ill effects of PCBs, which can cause
learning disorders and lower IQs.
Animals are at risk from eating fish from Conard's Branch
and Richland Creek. Local wildlife such as kingfisher birds
and mink that eat fish from Richland Creek within two
miles of the landfill could also experience reproductive
problems from PCBs, scientists said.
About Neal's Landfill
Neal's Landfill, located about five miles west of
Bloomington, consists of 18 acres used as a dump and
landfill on a larger parcel owned by a number of parties
over the years. The most recent owner is deceased and the
property was willed to the Sycamore Land Trust, which
has not officially accepted ownership. Access to the landfill
is restricted to gated entrances off State Road 48 and a
private drive south from Vernal Pike. The site is located in
a rural setting, and a few residences sit within a mile of the
property. Neal's Landfill, originally known as Whitehall
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Pike Landfill, began accepting municipal trash in 1950. It
was later renamed Ncal's Landfill after a former owner.
Between 1958 and 1965 the landfill was expanded into
low-lying areas next to an east-west ridge. During 1966
and 1967, scrap capacitors containing PCBs from a former
Westinghouse Corp. plant in Bloomington were disposed
of atNeaFs Landfill. EPA considers CBS Corp.. which
took over Westinghouse, as the party legally responsible
for the pollution. Legal negotiations between EPA and
CBS to conduct a final cleanup at Neal's Landfill and five
other PCB sites in the Bloomington area are ongoing.
Neal's Landfill was placed on the National Priorities List
in 1981. The sites on this list are among the nation's most
hazardous waste areas and are eligible for cleanup under
the EPA Superfund program. An initial cleanup plan for
Neal's Landfill and the other dump sites called for building
a local incinerator to burn PCB-contaminated waste, but
public opposition blocked that idea.
Extensive sampling and cleanup work on Neal's Landfill
began in 1983. Work done over the years included fencing.
removing capacitors and contaminated soil, building a clay
cap over the landfill and dredging polluted sediment from
and along Conard's Branch and Richland Creek. A
450 gallon-per-minute (gpm) treatment plant (with
capacity to treat up to 500 gpm) to collect contaminated
water from South Spring, North Spring, and a small stream
called the Southwest Seep began operation in 1990. Those
small streams feed Conard's Branch.
Under a 1999 cleanup plan, about 42,000 tons of PCB-
contaminated material was disposed of in an off-site
location, more than 4,000 capacitors were removed, the
landfill size was shrunk, and a multi-layer cap made from
clay and plastic liner was installed over the remaining
area. However, the continuing release of PCBs and other
hazardous chemicals from the small springs connected
to the landfill is recontaminating soil, sediment and
underground water and is creating the need for this latest
proposed cleanup plan.
Cleanup
The complex cleanup of the area in and around Neal's
Landfill has been divided into three smaller, more
manageable parts. EPA calls these parts '"operable
units." OU1 was the 1.999 cleanup project. OU2 is the
underground water supplies that feed the springs near
Neal's Landfill, while Operable Unit 3 is the soil and mud
in and around the springs. The proposed cleanup changes
described in this fact sheet deal with OUs 2 and 3. The
goals of the proposed cleanup are to reduce the amount of
PCBs released from ground water to Conard's Branch and
Richland Creek, improve PCB levels in fish so they can
be safely eaten and cut PCB mass in soil and mud thereby
lowering amounts of the contaminant available to fish.
OUS - and
The continuing release of PCBs from Neal's Landfill has
contaminated mud and soil in and along Conard's Branch.
Studies show creek mud is a major factor in contaminating
fish tissue with PCBs. EPA did have the option of taking
no action on the tainted mud and soil, but instead the
Agency is proposing to remove 1.141 cubic yards of
material from in and around the branch. That action will
reduce PCB levels to within established health guidelines.
The excavated mud and soil would be taken to an
approved off-site landfill for disposal. Cost of this project
would be $1.2 million.
OU2-Ground Water
Seven alternative cleanup plans for managing and
cleaning up contaminated underground water supplies
were considered by EPA. This ground water that runs
under Neal's Landfill picks up PCBs and eventually flows
into Conard's Branch and Richland Creek. Each of the
seven cleanup options except the no action alternative,
contains some common elements such as deed restrictions
and covenants to limit future uses of the site. Long-term
soil, sediment and water monitoring are also part of each
alternative. Cost of this project would be $1.6 million.
EPA evaluated each of the seven ground-water cleanup
alternatives against nine criteria required by law (see
box on P. 4 for an explanation of the criteria). The seven
alternatives are summarized below, but full details are
available in the technical documents on file in the Monroe
County Public Library.
Alternative 1 - No Action (shut down current water
treatment plant): A no action alternative is always
included in EPA's analysis as a comparison point. Cost - $0
Alternative 2 - Continue to operate 450 gpm water
treatment plant: The water plant treats about 47 percent
of the spring flow and 38 percent of the PCBs released by
the landfill. Cost - $1.5 million
Alternative 3 - Operate current treatment plant with
Improvement of water collection system (this Is EPA's
recommended cleanup alternative): In this option, the
water collection system would be improved so it will
capture spring water that currently bypasses the treatment
plant when water levels are low. The collection system
would be located downstream from the treatment plant
in Conard's Branch. To prevent the treatment plant from
processing water it has already treated, discharge pipes
would also be moved farther downstream in Conard's
Branch. These steps would treat 51 percent of the spring
flow and reduce PCB mass by 39 percent. Cost -$1.6
million + $1.2 million for sediment removal for a total of
$2.8 million
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Alternative 4 - Operate current treatment plant,
improve water collection and add 2 million gallons of
storm water storage: The difference in this alternative
from Alternative 3 is a large storage system would be
added to catch excess water during storms. The additional
stormwater storage would increase spring flow treated to
59 percent with a 48 percent reduction in PCBs released.
Cost - $3.7 million + $1.2 million for sediment removal for
a total of $4.9 million
Alternative 5 - Expand current treatment plant to
1,000 gpm capacity, improve water collection: In this
option, the capacity of the current 450 gpm treatment plant
would be doubled while the water collection system and
new discharge point described in Alternative 3 would also
be implemented. This option will treat 66 percent of the
spring flow with a 50 percent reduction in PCBs released.
Cost - $3 million + $1.2 million for sediment removal for a
total of $4.2 million
Alternative 6 - Expand current treatment plant to
1,000 gpm capacity, improve water collection and add
2 million gallons of stormwater storage: Implementing
all the expansions, new systems and storage will treat 74
percent of the spring flow and reduce PCBs 64 percent.
Cost -$5.1 million + $1.2 million for sediment removal for
a total of $6.3 million
Alternative 7 - Continue operating 450 gpm treatment
plant with water collection improvements and the
addition of three settling basins constructed in a series:
In this option, Alternative 3 would be implemented along
with building three settling ponds to treat stormwater.
The basins would cover a total of 18 acres. This option
would treat nearly all the spring flow and reduce PCBs 75
percent. Cost - $4.7 million + $1.2 million for sediment
removal for a total of $5.9 million
Evaluation of alternatives
EPA decided the "no action" alternative for contaminated
soil and sediment would not protect people or the
environment so the Agency will conduct the excavation.
As far as the ground water cleanup for Operable Unit
2, EPA evaluated the seven alternatives against the
nine criteria required by the Superfund law (see the
comparison chart) and selected as the best one Alternative
3 ~ maintaining the treatment plant, improving the water
collection system and moving the discharge pipe. Even
though Alternative 3 doesn't treat as much spring flow or
reduce PCB amounts as much as some of the other options,
it is the most cost-effective way to reduce pollution in
Conard's Branch and Richland Creek to a safe level and
lower or eliminate health risks to people and animals. If
selected, the total cost of the OUs 2 and 3 proposed plans
would be $2.8 million.
Explanation of evaluation criteria
1. Overall protection of human health and the environment addresses how well an option protects people and
the environment. This standard can be met by reducing or removing pollution or by reducing exposure to it.
2 Compliance with applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs) ensures that options comply
with federal, state and local laws.
3. Long-term effectiveness and permanence evaluates how well an option will work over the long-term, including
how safely remaining contamination can be managed.
4. Reduction of toxicity, mobility or volume through treatment addresses how well the option reduces the
danger, movement and amount of pollution.
5. Short-term effectiveness compares how quickly an option can help the situation and how much risk there will be
while the option is under construction.
6. Implementability evaluates how feasible the option is and whether materials and services are available in the
area.
7. Cost includes not only buildings, equipment, materials and labor but also the cost of maintaining the option for
the life of the cleanup.
8. State acceptance is whether the state environmental agency, in this case Indiana DEM, agrees or disagrees with
EPA's recommended alternative.
9. Community acceptance evaluates how well the community near the site accepts the option. EPA evaluates
community acceptance after it receives and evaluates public comments on its recommended alternative.
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Public Comment Sheet
EPA is interested in your comments on the proposed cleanup plan for the Neal's Landfill site. You may use the
space below to write your comments, then fold and mail the form. Or, you may submit comments on your own
paper. Comments must be postmarked by Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2007. You may submit your comments to
Thomas Alcamo at alcamo.thomas@epa.gov or fax to 312-886-4071.
If you have any questions, please contact Thomas Alcamo at 800-621-8431 or direct at 312-886-7278.
Name:
Affiliation:
Address:
City:
State: Zip:
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MEAL'S LANDFILL
PUBLIC COMMENT SHEET
Detach this page, fold on dashed lines, staple, stamp, and mail
Name
Address
City
State Zip
FIRST CLASS
Thomas Alcamo
EPA Remedial Project Manager
EPA Region 5 (SR-6J)
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
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Evaluation Criteria
Overall Protection of
Human Health and
the Environment
Compliance with
ARARs
Long- Term
Effectiveness and
Permanence
Reduction of Toxicity,
Mobility, or Volume
through Treatment
Short- Term
Effectiveness
Implementability
Cost
State Acceptance
Community
Acceptance
Alt. 1
D
D
D
D
$0
Alt. 2
D
D
D
$1.5M
Alt 3
$2.8 M
Alt 4
$4.8 M:
AltS
$4.2 M:
Alt. 6
$6.2 M
Alt. 7
$5.9M
State of Indiana supports Alternative 3 .
Will be evaluated after the comment period.
= Meets Criteria
n = Does Not Meet Criteria
EPA in consultation with IDEM will evaluate public-
reaction to the recommended cleanup plan during the
comment period before deciding on a final choice. Based
on new information or public comments, EPA may modify
its proposed option or select another of the cleanup
alternatives outlined in this fact sheet. EPA encourages you
to review and comment on the cleanup alternatives. Much
more detail on the cleanup alternatives is available in the
official documents on file at the Monroe County Public
Library in Bloomington.
EPA will respond to the comments in a document called
a responsiveness summary, which will be part of the
final decision document called the record of decision
amendment. The ROD amendment describes the final
cleanup plan selected for the site. EPA will announce the
selected cleanup plan in a local newspaper and will place
a copy on file in the information repository at the Monroe
County Library.
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 5
Office of Public Affairs (P-19J)
77 West Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60604
First Class Mail
Postage and Fees Paid
EPA
Permit No. G-35
MEAL'S LANDFILL:
Water Collection Improvements Proposed for Landfill Cleanup
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