FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ENR
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1999
(202) 514-2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888

WASTE GENERATORS TO PERFORM $13.9 MILLION CLEANUP

OF LANDFILL SUPERFUND SITE IN SIDNEY, NY

WASHINGTON, DC -- The federal government has reached an agreement with two companies that disposed of hazardous waste at the Richardson Hill Road Landfill Superfund site and with a part owner of the inactive landfill in Sidney, NY. Under the proposed settlement, Allied Signal, Inc. and Amphenol Corporation would spend an estimated $13.9 million on a series of actions to control contamination sources and to clean up groundwater. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which found unsafe levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and volatile organic compounds at the site, would supervise the work.

The agreement is embodied in a Consent Decree that was lodged in federal district court in Albany yesterday by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of EPA.

Under the settlement, the property owner will provide access to the site for the cleanup and ensure that the landfill is fenced to prevent trespassing and direct human exposure to the contaminants in the soil and groundwater. EPA's cleanup plan calls for the most contaminated material to be properly disposed of off site. The moderately contaminated material will be placed in a new, on-site disposal area and the least contaminated material will be consolidated and placed under a proper landfill cap. A leachate (liquid seepage) collection system will also be installed.

Contaminated groundwater will be addressed through the construction and operation of a system that extracts and treats the water. EPA will also work with Sidney to ensure that local restrictions on the use of groundwater will be implemented. Once the settlement is final, the actual cleanup work will not begin until design of the remedy is finalized and a contract to perform the construction work is awarded. In return for the companies undertaking the cleanup, the federal government will absorb a percentage of its past costs at the site and will waive its claim against them for certain future oversight costs.

Past Site Activities

In 1993, the responsible parties, Allied Signal Inc. and Amphenol Corporation, acting under an EPA Superfund Order, excavated 2,200 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a pond adjacent to the site and installed systems to prevent the migration of contamination in surface water and to purify drinking water at two nearby residences. Two additional contaminated wells were identified and the responsible parties made bottled water available to these residents until individual treatment systems were established.

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