Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
KALAMAZOO COUNTY
KALAMAZOO

Congressional District # 06

MICHIGAN DISPOSAL SERVICE (CORK STREET LANDFILL)

EPA ID# MID000775957
Last Updated: June, 2007

Site Description

The Michigan Disposal (Cork Street Landfill) site is located in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It is a 68-acre landfill, located in a predominantly industrial and commercial area of Kalamazoo. From 1925 to 1961, the site was operated as a waste disposal facility. In 1961, the city of Kalamazoo purchased the property and used it for municipal waste disposal until 1968. Prior to 1968, waste was burned in an onsite incinerator, and the ash was buried in the landfill. The city continued to use the site until 1981 when Dispose-O-Waste, now Michigan Disposal Service, Inc., purchased the facility. Michigan Disposal Service, Inc. received a permit from the State of Michigan to operate the site as a Type III landfill. In 1991, under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) oversight and pursuant to an October 1987 Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), the city of Kalamazoo and the owner completed a study which found volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including toluene, xylene, benzene, and the heavy metals arsenic and lead, in onsite monitoring wells. A creek adjacent to the site showed elevated levels of lead and iron. In 1992, the facility was shut down by State Order. The population within a three-mile radius of the site is approximately 50,000 people. The closest residence is located one-half mile from the site. Approximately 30 private water wells and two municipal water wells operate within two miles of the landfill. The municipal wells provide water for fire protection and are on stand-by status as drinking water sources. Davis Creek flows along a portion of the eastern site boundary and also flows into the Kalamazoo River, which is used for recreational purposes. 

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed by the sole PRP (City of Kalamazoo) under a Consent Decree with USEPA.

Threats and Contaminants

VOCs, including toluene, xylene, and benzene, and the heavy metals, arsenic and lead, were detected in onsite monitoring wells. A creek adjacent to the site showed elevated levels of lead and iron. Davis Creek and the Kalamazoo River may be threatened by site contaminants. Potential health risks exist for individuals who accidentally ingest the contaminated groundwater or surface water

Cleanup Progress

The U.S. EPA selected the final cleanup remedy in September 1991. The remedy includes placing a solid waste cap on the entire site and pumping and treating the contaminated groundwater and discharging it to a publicly-owned wastewater treatment facility. In March 1997, the city of Kalamazoo and the Michigan Disposal Service entered into an AOC to perform a predesign study, intended to define the extent of the groundwater contamination. Consent Decree negotiations for design and construction of the remedy, which had been suspended to allow the city and the Michigan Disposal Service an opportunity to resolve allocation issues, were concluded by May 1998. Field work for the predesign studies and final remedial design were completed in December 1999. Remedial Action Activities for the selected remedy started in April 2000 and were completed in July 2002. 

The remedy for the Michigan Disposal Service Superfund Site consisted of re-compacting a clay layer, adding a 24 inch protection layer, 6 inch vegetation layer and gas vents over a 22 acre portion of the landfill, constructing a new cap over the remaining 30 acres consisting of a 6 inch vegetation layer, 24 inch frost protection layer, geosynthetic clay liner and gas venting layer. Additionally, the remedy included installation of a RCRA Subtitle D cover for surface containment of waste materials, an extension of the leachate collection system, and monitoring wells for periodic monitoring in accordance with the Groundwater / Surface Water Interface Monitoring Plan. Institutional controls include fencing, signage, notice to future property owners, and deed restrictions to regulate development and groundwater use restrictions.  

Inspections of the landfill are conducted on a quarterly basis.   Areas throughout the landfill are examined to ensure the various components of the landfill cover system are operational.  The PRPs report to USEPA quarterly about activities conducted pursuant to the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plan for the Closure Cover, Surface Water Management System, Leachate collection system, landfill gas monitoring system and mitigation wetlands and the Groundwater Surface Water interface Monitoring Plan. The PRPs had submitted a revised Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) to cover the O&M sampling and this plan was approved by the USEPA QAPP Reviewer in July 2006.

A Five Year Review was completed in December 2004 and the assessment of this five-year review found that the remedy was constructed in accordance with requirements of the ROD and the final ROD Amendment. The remedy is functioning as designed. The immediate threats have been addressed and the remedy is expected to be protective as long is maintained and monitored and an IC plan is implemented.  Old galvanized steel monitoring wells were replaced by PVC wells and landfill gas probes were installed in 2005.  A seep sampling program was begun in 2006 to address concerns that the MDEQ had raised about a potential seep.  The PRP has sampled the seep and the results are forthcoming in the winter of 2007.

The PRP, USEPA, and MDEQ are refining the Monitoring program in the winter of 2007 with hopes of approving a modification to the monitoring program by spring 2007.  The PRPs have asked to abandon several of the wells so the RPM asked that the PRP conduct analysis of the data to identify the trends in each of the wells of key contaminants.

Property Reuse

The 26 acre site is not currently in re-use and it is fenced.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
gwen massenburg (massenburg.gwendolyn@epa.gov)
(312) 886-0983

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
stuart hill
(312) 886-0689

Aliases

MICHIGAN DISPOSAL SERVICE (CORK ST LDFL)
DISPOSE-O-WASTE
CORK STREET LDFL
DISPOSE-O-WASTE & TRANSFER STA
MICHIGAN DSPL SERV
MICHIGAN DISPOSAL(CORK STREET LANDFILL)

 

Site Profile Information

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