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Mathis Brothers Landfill
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Northeast portion of Mathis Brothers Landfill (South Marble Top Road) site.
- Additional Site Photos
- Site Video
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: GAD980838619Location: Kensington, Walker County, GA
Lat/Long: 34.797780, -085.377780
Congressional District: 09
NPL Status: Proposed: 01/22/87; Final: 03/31/89
Affected Media: Debris, Ground water, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Currently unused
Site Manager: Charles King (king.charlesl@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Mathis Brothers Landfill (South Marble Top Road) site is located approximately 0.6 miles south of Highway 136 and 0.2 miles east of South Marble Top Road in Walker County, Georgia. The 10-acre site consists of and is surrounded by undeveloped, forested land. Land use in the general area is predominantly agricultural and low density residential, with the nearest residence located 400 feet southwest of the site.
The site was operated by Sidney and Mose Mathis as a landfill from approximately January 1974 to January 1980. Approximately 1.25 acres of this land had been cleared for past landfill operations. Three disposal areas (Areas A, B, and C) were utilized on the site.
In February 1974, a milky discoloration was observed on the ground near the northeast portion of the landfill. On February 26, 1974, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GEPD) notified the Mathis Brothers to stop accepting latex wastes and industrial solid wastes, including benzonitrile and dicamba.
In early 1980, GEPD made a determination that the landfill did not conform to the pending statutory requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) and Georgia's Hazardous Waste Management Act and closed the landfill. On March 11, 1980, GEPD officials met with Mr. Mose Mathis to discuss the closure requirements for the landfill. In 1984, GEPD requested that the site be included on the Georgia State Superfund Program listing. The Marble Top Road Site was proposed to the NPL in January 1987, and was listed as final on the NPL in 1989.Threats and Contaminants
The site was identified as a threat to human health and the environment due to the presence of hazardous substances in the landfill. Wastes disposed of at the site include benzonitrile, dicamba, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, latex and carpet wastes. Threats include exposure to contaminated soil and ground water.
Access to the site is currently limited by perimeter fencing. Exposure to contaminated soil is prevented by a soil cap and ground cover. Ground water beneath the site is not currently used for drinking water or irrigation wells.Site Cleanup Plan
EPA issued its Record of Decision (ROD), describing the original cleanup approach for the site, in March 1993. In 1996, EPA modified the cleanup approach in a ROD Amendment based on new information. The revised cleanup approach consisted of the following components:
- Diversion of surface water.
- Excavation of waste and soil and segregation of the excavated material.
- Collection and, if necessary, off-site treatment of ground water during excavations.
- Disposal of non-hazardous waste in a landfill that accepts nonhazardous waste.
- Blending of off-site fuels of benzonitrile and benzoic acid waste at a RCRA-approved facility.
- Off-site incineration and disposal of hazardous wastes and associated contaminated landfill soil.
- Use of living organisms (bioremediation) to clean up dicamba waste using bioslurry technology. If not effective, treat waste at an approved off-site incineration facility.
- Backfilling of the excavation with clean fill.
- Placement of a low permeability cap over the backfilled material.
- Installation of additional monitoring wells for ground water monitoring. If future sampling indicates that ground water contamination exceeds Maximum Contaminants Levels, ground water extraction and treatment may be required.
- Implementation of institutional controls (i.e., covenants restricting ground water use).
Cleanup Progress
Construction of the physical components necessary for cleanup started in March 1997 and was completed in January 1998. Major cleanup actions included the following:
- Excavation of over 21,300 cubic yards of landfill material and contaminated soil from the site.
- Grading of the site with berms around the excavation to prevent ground water from entering the excavation. Upon completion of cleanup activities, the site was graded to divert surface water away from the capped area.
- Backfilling of the excavation with 18,496 cubic yards of off-site borrow.
- Installation of a low permeability liner over the backfilled area extending 20 feet beyond the excavation limits. Six inches of fill dirt topped by six inches of topsoil were placed over the cover. A vegetative cover was then established over the topsoil layer.
- Transport of an estimated 841,826 gallons of water off site for treatment/disposal.
Dicamba wastes were noted throughout the landfill excavation but in quantities too small to be segregated from other waste and soils. Analytical results indicated the concentrations of dicamba detected were below the accepted regulatory standard. Therefore bioslurry treatment was not needed and was not implemented.
The 2002 Five-Year Review (FYR) concluded that the cleanup approaches implemented at the site were expected to be protective of human health and the environment upon attainment of ground water cleanup goals.
The 2007 FYR concluded that the site currently protects human health and the environment because there is no current exposure pathway to contaminated ground water at the site. However, in order for the cleanup approach to be protective in the long-term, institutional controls in the form of covenants restricting ground water use need to be recorded on properties where contamination has spread above ROD cleanup goals. EPA is working on this issue.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by potentially responsible parties (PRPs) with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
In December 1987, EPA contacted several companies and/or individuals with potential responsibility for the waste disposal at the site to provide the companies and/or individuals the opportunity to conduct, with EPA's oversight, the Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS). In 1988, Velsicol Chemical signed an Administrative Order of Consent to conduct the RI/FS.
Following issuance of the 1993 ROD, EPA continued its enforcement activities by sending a Special Notice Letter to PRPs. None of the PRPs were willing to enter into a Consent Decree to carry out the Remedial Design and Remedial Action (RD/RA). Accordingly, in August of 1993, EPA issued Unilateral Administrative Orders to implement the ROD to Velsicol Chemical, GAF Corporation, and Mydrin, Inc. Velsicol Chemical Corporation and Mydrin conducted the RD/RA at the site in compliance with the Administrative Order.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Mathis Brothers Landfill (South Marble Top Road) site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices and information meetings on cleanup progress and activities.
Future Work
The vegetative cover is mowed semi-annually and the cap and perimeter fence are inspected semi-annually. Ground water is monitored semiannually at the site.
The next FYR is required in 2012.Site Administrative Documents
Site Repository
For more information or to view any site-related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.
Lafayette-Walker County Public Library
S. Duke St.
Lafayette, GA 30728
Administrative Record Index
- OU-1 (PDF) (24 pp, 1.0MB, About PDF)
- Amend. (PDF) (4 pp, 149K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.