Celebrating Success:
York County Solid Waste Landfill Site
Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania
&EPA
Superfund
Redevelopment
Initiative
"The use of a solar panel system to supply
our power needs at the landfill demonstrates
not only our commitment to alternative
energy, but also our efforts to minimize
operational impacts to the environment. "
- Richard Hazenstab, YCSWA
Environmental Programs Coordinator

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Restored grasslands provide habitats to
birds and wildlife. (Source: YCSWA)
For more information, please contact
Melissa Friedland at
fnedland.melissa@epa.gov | (703) 603-8864
or
Frank Avvisato at
avvisato.frank@epa.gov | (703) 603-8949
The 135-acre York County Solid Waste and Refuse Authority
Landfill Superfund site (the Site) is located in Hopewell Township,
Pennsylvania. The area was once a municipal landfill. Today,
the Site supports several reuses, including recreation, a wildlife
habitat and a solar energy array that powers the Site's long-term
groundwater cleanup.
In 1974, the York County Solid Waste Authority (YCSWA) began
operating a 300-acre landfill. It accepted municipal waste, debris
and other non-hazardous materials. In 1982, YCSWA discovered
contaminants in the groundwater. EPA determined that the source
was an unlined 135-acre area of the landfill. EPA added the Site to
the Superfund programs National Priorities List (NPL) in 1987.
YCSWA agreed to close the 135-acre area and install a vegetated
soil cap. Afterward, YCSWA treated and monitored groundwater,
installed gas vents and provided clean drinking water to nearby
residents. During cleanup, EPA, the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection and YCSWA worked together to
ensure the protection of human health and the environment. EPA
took the Site off the NPL in 2005.
Safe and beneficial reuse of the 135-acre area was a priority for
Hopewell Township. Hie locality worked closely with YCSWA
on opportunities for beneficial community uses at the Site.
Today, the Site is part of the 200-acre Hopewell Area Recreation
Complex. The community park, completed in 2008, includes
playgrounds, walking trails, athletic fields, a picnic pavilion, a
parking lot and two wildlife viewing platforms, one of which is
handicap-accessible. Residents from across York County use the
recreation complex, which also hosts more than 150 events a year.
The cap provides grassland habitat and serves as a bird sanctuary
that attracts more than 122 species of birds. From the viewing
area, visitors can observe raptors, woodpeckers and other native
species. In 2009, the Natural Resources Conservation Service
of Pennsylvania noted that the Site is the state's second largest
unfragmented grassland habitat that is publicly accessible.
YCSWA also found opportunities to integrate renewable energy
facilities at the Site. To help power ongoing groundwater treatment,
YCSWA worked with solar developer York County Solar Partners
on a 2-acre solar array. The 806-panel array started operating
in 2014; it generates about 300,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity
each year, which is equivalent to the amount needed to power 27
households per year.
July 2015
Athletic fields and playground equipment
at the Hopewell Area Recreation Complex,
(Source: YCSWA)
The 2-acre solar array powers ongoing
groundwater treatment. (Source: YCSWA)
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