News Releases from Region 01

EPA Completes Review of Landfill & Resource Recovery Superfund Site in N. Smithfield, Rhode Island

N. SMITHFIELD, R.I. – EPA recently completed a comprehensive review of the site cleanup work previously completed at the Landfill & Resource Recovery Superfund Site in N. Smithfield, R.I. by performing a required Five-Year Review. The Superfund program, a federal program established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and endeavors to facilitate activities to return them to productive use.

"EPA performs Five-Year Review evaluations at Superfund Sites to ensure that our implemented site remedies continue to protect public health and the environment," said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel.

"DEM is pleased that this phase of this decades-old project aligns with our standards for resiliency while continuing to protect human health and the environment," said Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit. "Also we are very excited to endorse a reuse of a large solar array on this Superfund Site that will bring over 12 megawatts of green energy to Rhode Island."

During 2019 EPA technical staff conducted a Five-Year Review of the Landfill & Resource Recovery, Inc. (L&RR), N. Smithfield, R.I. The final report can be found on EPA's site profile page (see: www.epa.gov/superfund/lrr ) in in the "Site Documents and Data" section.

Background

Throughout the Superfund process of designing and constructing a cleanup remedy for a hazardous waste site, EPA's first goal is to make sure the remedy will be protective of public health and the environment. At many sites, EPA continues to ensure protectiveness by requiring reviews of completed cleanups every five years. It is important for EPA to regularly check on these sites to ensure the remedy is working properly. Five-year review evaluations identify potential issues and, if called for, recommend action(s) necessary to address them.

EPA is actively involved in Superfund studies and cleanups at 13 sites across R.I. There are many phases of the Superfund cleanup process including considering future use and redevelopment at sites and conducting post cleanup monitoring of sites. EPA must ensure the remedy is protective of public health and the environment and any redevelopment will uphold the protectiveness of the remedy into the future.

More information on EPA topics pertaining to Rhode Island: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/ri