News Releases from Region 05
EPA Deletes DuPage County Landfill/Blackwell Forest Preserve from Superfund list
WARRENVILLE, Ill. (September 9, 2020) —The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the deletion of the DuPage County Landfill/Blackwell Forest Preserve Superfund Site in Warrenville from the National Priorities List (NPL). EPA has determined that the required cleanup is complete and no further remediation other than routine operation and maintenance, monitoring, and five-year reviews is necessary to protect human health and the environment.
“This administration continues to make good on its commitment to pick up the pace of Superfund cleanups,” said EPA Regional Administrator Kurt Thiede. “Now that this cleanup is done, visitors can better enjoy nature and recreation at the Blackwell Forest Preserve.”
The 40-acre DuPage County Landfill/Blackwell Forest Preserve Superfund Site is located within the 1,200-acre Blackwell Forest Preserve. The landfill accepted waste between 1965 and 1973. Known as Mt. Hoy, the waste and soil mountain rises 150 feet above the original ground surface. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in 1990.
EPA repaired the landfill cap, installed an extraction system, treated and disposed of the landfill leachate, and installed additional landfill gas vents. EPA continues to monitor the natural breakdown of groundwater contamination. Close cooperation between EPA, Illinois EPA and the site’s potentially responsible party enabled the Forest Preserve to address potential risks while maintaining public access to recreation and conservation activities.
EPA proposed the deletion on July 7, 2020 and held a 30-day comment period. The agency’s response to comments and the final rule to delete the site can be found in docket: EPA-HQ-SFUND-1990-0010-0082, accessed through http://regulations.gov.
The NPL tracks the nation’s most contaminated sites that threaten human health or the environment. Sites on the list are eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. EPA removes sites or parts of sites from the list once all the remedies are successfully implemented and no further cleanup, other than operation and maintenance, monitoring and five-year reviews, is required.
For more information: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0500606
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