Emmel's Septic Cleanup Project a Year Ahead of Schedule Thanks to Federal Funding

The Emmell’s Septic Landfill site should be completely cleaned at some point next year, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson John Martin said on Thursday, May 3.

The clean up should be completed about a year ahead of schedule thanks to $3.9 million in Recovery Act Funding from the federal government in 2009. The $3.9 million accounted for exactly half the total cost of the project, Martin said.

“The soil clean up was done last year,” Martin said, adding that work will begin on the groundwater later this year. “Everyday, we have workers out there working on the project.”

The site, located at 128 Zurich Avenue in Galloway, was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List on July 22, 1999 because hazardous chemicals were found in the soil and groundwater, according to an EPA report.

The 38-acre site was in operation for 12 years, from 1967 to 1979. During that time, the site accepted septic and sewage waste, and placed it in ponds and lagoons. According to the report, both solid and chemical wastes were disposed of at the landfill, including gas cylinders, drums filled with paint sludge, and household garbage.

The groundwater contained volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that exceeded federal drinking water standards, according to the report. VOCs are potentially harmful contaminants and evaporate with ease in the air.

Groundwater is the primary source for drinking water within four miles of the site, and is used for irrigation of commercial food crops near the site, according to the report.

According to the report, EPA detected elevated levels of VOCs in a couple of nearby residences, related to the site. It installed water treatment systems in those residences, according to the report.

EPA also supplied 3,500 gallons of bottled water to residents whose wells were believed to have been affected by contamination related to the site, according to the report, and 36 residents who were affected by groundwater contamination were connected to the public water supply.

Paint sludge inside the drums was later revealed to contain elevated levels of lead and VOCs, according to the report.

Soils on site contained significant levels of lead, cadmium, arsenic, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), according to the report. They have since been completed cleared, according to Martin, with contaminated soils being taken to a TSCA landfill in Pennsylvania, and the non-contaminated soils being taken to a separate landfill, also in Pennsylvania.

In all, EPA has removed 438 drums, 11 gas cylinders, and 28,046 cubic yards of soil, according to the report.