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.


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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


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