News Releases from Region 05
EPA removes the Duell & Gardner Landfill site in Dalton Township, Michigan, from Superfund National Priorities List
For Immediate Release: No. 19-OPA073
DALTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (Oct. 1, 2019) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed the Duell & Gardner Superfund site from the National Priorities List (NPL). Cleanup of soil and groundwater at the site is complete, and the State of Michigan now oversees and monitors the site.
“EPA is making good on its commitment to pick up the pace of Superfund cleanups so the sites can be restored to productive use,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cathy Stepp. “Promoting redevelopment is part of EPA’s core mission and helps spur the local economy in communities near Superfund sites.”
Under the Trump Administration, EPA’s Superfund program has reemerged as a priority to fulfil and strengthen the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment. In FY 2018, EPA deleted all or part of 22 sites from the Superfund’s NPL, the largest number of deletions in one year since FY 2005 and a significant increase over the past few years.
The landfill was used for the disposal of industrial and municipal waste from the mid-1940s to 1973. Waste in unlined trenches, depressions, and on the surface of the site caused soil and groundwater contamination.
EPA proposed the deletion on July 31, 2019, 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-1983-0002, accessed through https://regulations.gov.
Background
The NPL is a roster of the nation’s most contaminated sites that threaten human health or the environment. The sites on the list are eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. EPA removes sites from the list once all the remedies are successfully implemented and no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment.
To learn more about this site: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/duell-gardner-landfill.
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