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*. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	10-P-0055
f KM ro	nffironflncnorW^onoral	January 26, 2010
•	U • O • L. I I V 11 U llllldlldl I I UlCvll
	 \ Office of Inspector General
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At a Glance
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Why We Did This Review
The Office of Inspector
General (OIG) is testing long-
term monitoring results at
Superfund sites the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has deleted
from the National Priorities
List. The Wildcat Landfill
Superfund Site, located near
Dover, Delaware (within EPA
Region 3), is one of eight sites
being reviewed. In April
2008, the OIG obtained
groundwater and surface water
samples from the Site and
conducted a site inspection.
Background
Wildcat Landfill was added to
the Superfund National
Priorities List in 1983 and was
deleted from the list in 2003.
The Site was contaminated
from disposal of paint sludge
and municipal, industrial, and
latex waste. In 2005, the Site
was sold to Kent County,
Delaware (Site owner), which
plans to reuse the Site for
public recreation purposes.
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional,
Public Affairs and Management
at (202) 566-2391.
To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2010/
20100126-10-P-0055.pdf
Changes in Conditions at Wildcat Landfiii Superfund
Site in Delaware Call for Increased EPA Oversight
What We Found
Our inspection of the Wildcat Landfill Superfund Site, combined with the current
owner's plans for the Site, demonstrate that more sampling and EPA oversight are
needed to ensure that the Site remains safe for humans and the environment based
on planned future use. Our independent sampling results were generally
consistent with Region 3's historical results. However, surface waters at the Site
have a sheen that resembles petroleum. The clean-up remedy does not address
petroleum contamination and Region 3 had not tested for petroleum during its
sampling events, but agreed to test for it in September 2009. In December 2009,
the Region reported that it had detected petroleum at levels below public health
standards and it will continue to monitor petroleum levels at the Site.
OIG's results also disclosed several instances where aluminum, iron, and selenium
exceeded ecological protection standards. Further, Region 3's historical samples
were not always analyzed according to the required standard, which can prevent
detection of contamination that exceeds standards. Region 3 corrected this error in
a September 2009 sampling event. It also reported from its September 2009
sampling event that levels of aluminum and selenium were within ecological
protection standards, but iron was not.
The Site has not been cleaned up to standards that allow for unrestricted public
access. However, the Site's owner plans to create a greenway and to construct a
bike path on the landfill, which would open part of the Site to unrestricted access.
A local small business owner who purchased an acre of the Site has also inquired
about building a storage facility on that acre. Region 3's oversight of the Site
reuse plans has been informal and undocumented. The Region is currently aware
of the Site owner's plans and agreed to formally document discussions with the
Site owner and review reuse plans as they become available.
What We Recommend
We recommend that Region 3 modify its sampling and analysis approach to
ensure proper testing of relevant contaminants, address contamination that exceeds
ecological or human safety standards, and improve oversight of Site reuse plans.
Region 3 agreed with OIG recommendations and has initiated or completed some
actions.

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