Next Steps

The construction for the cleanup is due
to begin 2015. The cleanup will
include:

1.	A multi-layer cap for the landfill

All waste located outside the landfill
will be removed or put under the
cap

The landfill will be vegetated, and
landscaping will be designed
around the Site

The cap will prevent exposure to all
landfill contaminants
A drainage system for the landfill will
be installed

2.	Groundwater cleanup
Installation of injection wells to treat
the contamination
Installation of additional monitoring
wells to monitor cleanup effective-
ness

Questions? Contact Us!

Jill Lowe

Remedial Project Manager

215-814-3123

lowe.jill@epa.gov

Alexander Mandell

Community Involvement Coordinator
215-814-5517

mandell.alexander@epa.gov
Gina Soscia

Community Involvement Coordinator

215-814-5538

soscia.gina@epa.gov

PUBLIC MEETING!

Join the U.S. EPA Region 3 Watson
Johnson Landfill Superfund Site team
for an evening of information and
informal conversation about the
Watson Johnson Landfill Site.

WHEN: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015

WHERE: JAMES A. MICHENER
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ADDRESS: 401 WEST MILL STREET
QUAKERTOWN, PA

TIME: 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

The EPA will be providing two presen-
tations regarding the past, current,
and future status of the Watson John-
son Landfill. Those presentations will
take place at 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM.
There will be a question and answer
session following each presentation.

If you have any questions or concerns
please do not hesitate to contact us!
Our contact information is provided
on this fact sheet.

Watson Johnson Superfund Site Website:
http://ao.usa.gov/M7qd



^genC4

Q

a

X)
zr

Q"

~o

>

o

CO

0

01

o

>

o
u

CO

CD
CD

CD

GO

<: > :
q. 3 y

o > 3'

s

&> ® 5

Cn 2-

W 2 Q

§ ,
a o

® CD
— Q„
o

Z5

>
(D
CD

D

O

THE

WATSON JOHNSON LANDFILL

SUPERFUND SITE

Community Update April 2015


-------
Construction to begin at Watson
Johnson Superfund Site

The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) will soon start its cleanup of the
Watson Johnson Landfill on East
Pumping Station Road. The plans
include a multi-layer cap for the landfill
and groundwater cleanup. The
Watson Johnson property,
approximately 56 acres in size, was
used as a landfill from the late 1950s
until the early 1970s. The landfill
accepted both industrial and
municipal wastes.

You may be wondering...what exactly
is a Superfund site?

Superfund is the name given to the
federal environmental program
established to address abandoned
hazardous waste Sites. It is also the
name of the fund established by the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability
Act of 1980. This law was enacted in
the wake of the discovery of toxic
waste dumps such as Love Canal and
Times Beach in the 1970s. Superfund
allows the EPA to clean up such Sites
and to compel responsible parties to
perform cleanups or reimburse the
government for EPA's cleanup costs.

When was Wgtson Johnson listed os a
Superfund site?

In June 1998, concerned citizens
contacted EPA and requested that the
agency perform an investigation of the
former landfill. EPA conducted field
investigations at the Site from 1998
through 1999, collecting samples from
on-site soils, adjacent wetlands,
Tohickon Creek and groundwater
monitoring wells. Local residential and
Quakertown Borough municipal wells
were also sampled. The results from
these tests determined that the former
landfill was a potential threat to human
health and the environment. The EPA
added this Site to the National Priorities
List (NPL) on September 13, 2001. The
agency conducted a comprehensive
Site study, known as the Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study. Data
from this investigation was used to
determine the nature and extent of the
contamination, and to develop
cleanup plans.

What has EPA done at the Site so far?

• In March of 2000, EPA removed a
drum and surrounding
contaminated soil which contained
elevated levels of Perchloroethene
(PCE) and lead. (To learn more
about PCE and lead, contact us!).

What has EPA done at the Site so far?

continued...

•	To address the immediate health
concerns posed by volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) contamination
in several home wells, an extension
of the public water main was
completed in March 2006. This
extension services up to thirty-five
residential wells that were affected
and/or threatened by VOC
contaminated groundwater at
levels of a public health concern.

•	Today, no private drinking water
wells are located in the area of
groundwater contamination.

•	A Proposed Plan was issued for the
Site for public comment and a
Public Meeting was held on
September 25, 2008 to discuss EPA's
proposal. The Record of Decision
(ROD) for the Site was signed on
August 14, 2009. The ROD selected a
multi-layer cover system for the
landfill area and on-site chemical
oxidation with enhanced
bioremediation for the groundwater
as the cleanup remedy.

Why has there been such a delay in
construction? Were we exposed to
risks during this time that EPA was not at
the Site?

It is important to note that EPA has
continually monitored the Site, even
during the lapse in construction.
Groundwater monitoring has taken
place annually, and EPA has also taken
sediment and surface soil samples.
Once the ROD was signed, remedial
design for the Site cleanup remedy
began in November 2009 and a
pre-design investigation was
conducted. The Remedial Design was
completed in September 2011.
Throughout the country, all of EPA's
Sites compete for limited resources.
Funding for new construction cleanup
projects were not available for several
years. Funding became available
towards the end of 2014 and since
then, EPA is moving towards the
construction of the remedy for the
Watson Johnson Landfill Superfund Site.


-------