EPA wants three Bloomington sites removed from Superfund list

May 21, 2021

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing deleting three Bloomington Superfund sites from a list of the nation’s most polluted sites, the National Priorities List.

The EPA said that cleanups at the Bennett Stone Quarry, Lemon Lane Landfill and Neal’s Landfill sites are completed and no further action is required, but the agency wants to hear what the public thinks before making the change.

The 4-acre Bennett Stone Quarry was used as a dump site during the 1960s and 1970s. Electrical capacitors dumped at the quarry contaminated soil and groundwater with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The site was added to the National Priorities List in 1984, but long-term cleanup did not begin until 1999.

According to the EPA, more than 36,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil were excavated and removed to a permitted landfill, and a drain and water treatment plant were installed to meet state water discharge requirements.

The 10-acre Lemon Lane Landfill was used between 1933 and 1964. During the last six years of its use, a large number of Westinghouse Electric Corp., now CBS Corp., electrical capacitors containing PCBs were dumped at the site. Metal scavengers broke open the capacitors, releasing the PCBs.

The site was added to the NPL in 1983, but a full cleanup did not begin until 2000.

The EPA said more than 80,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil were excavated and removed, a landfill cap was placed over the 9-acre landfill and a treatment plant was installed to treat PCB-contaminated spring water.

The 18-acre Neal’s Landfill site is about 3 miles east of Bloomington. The site was used as a landfill between 1949 and 1972. According to the EPA, Westinghouse Electric Corp. dumped waste electrical equipment and parts, including electrical capacitors containing PCBs, in the landfill between 1962 and 1970.

The site was added to the NPL in 1983 and a full cleanup began in 1999.

More than 40,000 tons of contaminated soil was excavated and removed, a cap was placed over the landfill and a spring water treatment plant was installed.

CBS must continue to operate and maintain water treatment plants at the three sites under the supervision of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The sites will still undergo five-year reviews indefinitely.

The EPA will accept public comment on the proposed deletions of the Bennett Stone Quarry site, the Lemon Lane Landfill site and the Neal’s Landfill site until June 14.

EPA wants three Bloomington sites removed from Superfund list

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