Brownfield Assessment of the Former Nyssa Landfill Nyssa, Oregon Project Overview The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Eastern Region Site Assessment Program, under a Cooperative Agreement with EPA, conducted an assessment of the former municipal landfill located near the City of Nyssa. The purpose of the assessment was to asses the current or potential threat posed by wastes at the site and to identify possible environmental impediments to the development of the site as an industrial park. The former Nyssa Landfill is located along Arcadia Avenue approximately 1.75 miles north of Nyssa, OR. The site is part of a 13 acre parcel of land owned by the City of Nyssa. The site is located approximately % of a mile from the Snake River. The landfill was in operation from the 1960's until approximately 1972, when all activities at the site ceased. The assessment was conducted under a Brownfield Site Assessment project. The purpose of the project was to determine the demand for and potential effectiveness of an expanded Brownfield evaluation program and to assist redevelopment efforts at the local level. Brownfield sites are considered to be vacant or under-utilized commercial or industrial properties with known or perceived contamination of hazardous substances that has affected the sale and/or redevelopment of the site. ------- What we did The project began with a scoping meeting in December 1996, which was attended by representatives from the City of Nyssa, DEQ, OEDD and EPA. The meeting was followed with a site visit in January 1997, and completed with a sampling event in March 1997. Surface and subsurface soil samples were collected from ten locations within the landfill. The final report was completed in June 1997, and is available to the public. What we found Pesticides were detected in all soil samples collected at the site. There appears to be no obvious pattern to the distribution of the contaminants. Of the eleven pesticides detected at the site, six were detected at concentrations above the State of Oregon Cleanup Standards. They are: lindane; heptachlor epoxide; endosulfan I; pp'- DDE; dieldrin; and p,'-DDT. Some pesticide concentrations were more than 100 times the applicable Oregon Soil Cleanup Standard. What is the next step? Due to the presence of pesticide contamination in soil throughout the landfill area, further investigative work is recommended before any decisions regarding clean up and future development of the property can be made. Additional soil sampling is needed to determine the extent of soil contamination. A limited groundwater investigation involving the installation of on-site wells and possible testing of nearby private wells for pesticide contamination is also recommended. After cleanup, development of the portions of the site may be possible. For more information, please contact: Gordon Zimmerman, City Manager, City of Nyssa, 541-372-2264 John Dadoly, Oregon DEQ - Pendleton, 541-278-4616 ------- |