In a move that will protect the nearby community, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding the Brillo Landfill in Victory, New York to its Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), along with four other sites across the country. EPA will also propose two sites to the NPL, where releases of contamination pose significant human health and environmental risk.
“Adding the Brillo Landfill to the Superfund National Priorities List will provide the federal funding and capabilities needed to address this legacy pollution in Cayuga County,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “We will work with our state, local and community partners to investigate the extent of contamination, weigh our cleanup options and pursue those responsible to pay for the mess they’ve left behind.”
Now closed, the Brillo Landfill received various industrial and sanitary waste, as well as paint sludge and wastewater treatment sludge. As a result, it is currently contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals such as lead and mercury, found in numerous waste disposal units and in the surrounding soil. Further New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) investigations in 2021 found similar contamination and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in nearby wetlands bordering Little Sodus Creek.
EPA conducted an immediate removal action to protect public health starting in June 2018 through 2019, removing approximately 2,000 intact drums and drum carcasses, including about 8,000 gallons of liquid waste and 782 tons of contaminated soil and other solid debris. However, a long-term cleanup is still required to address the remaining contamination at the site. Groundwater sampling results from facility monitoring wells show site-related contaminants above federal and state groundwater standards. NYSDEC has tested private drinking water wells within one mile of the site and has not identified impacts to these wells.
Thousands of contaminated sites, from landfills, processing plants, to manufacturing facilities exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will accelerate EPA’s work to help communities clean up these contaminated sites with a $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund Remedial Program and reinstates the Superfund chemical excise taxes, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address legacy pollution. This historic investment strengthens EPA’s ability to tackle threats to human health and the environment, and EPA has already set action in motion to clear the backlog of the 49 contaminated sites which had been awaiting funding to start remedial action.
Published in the November 2022 Edition