A.L. Taylor (Valley of the Drums)

• Site Profile
• Administrative Record Index: Deletion (PDF, 2 pp., 77K)
• Additional Site Documents including Five Year Reviews, Records of Decisions (ROD) and Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD).
• For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office (http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/submit.htm).

Site Background:
The A.L. Taylor site located in Bullitt County, Kentucky is a 13-acre site used as a waste disposal site from 1967 to 1977. The owner excavated pits on-site and emptied the contents of waste drums into the pits before recycling the drums. Soils from nearby hills were eventually used to cover the pits. Thousands of drums were also stored on the surface. The Kentucky Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (KDNREP) first documented releases of hazardous substances in 1975. They pursued legal actions against the owner until his death in 1977. The EPA inspected the Site in 1981 and discovered approximately 4,000 deteriorating and leaking drums that were discharging pollutants into a nearby tributary of the Ohio River. Approximately 100 people live in a residential area located within 1-mile of the Site. The ground water, surface water, and soil were polluted with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ketones, plastics such as phtalates, and polychlorinated byphenils (PCBs) from spills and deteriorating waste drums. Accidental injection of and direct contact with the contaminated ground water, soil and surface water presented possible health threats.

Cleanup Progress: Construction Completed
In 1979, EPA conducted an emergency response action at the site, removed and properly stored drums of waste, built trenches to contain waste and to protect the Wilson Creek.  EPA also installed a temporary carbon activated water treatment facility which the State later operated.  In 1980, Kentucky contacted six responsible parties who voluntarily identified and removed a portion of the wastes stored at the site.  In 1981, the EPA conducted additional cleanup action to upgrade the existing treatment system and to remove the remaining 4,200 drums of waste at the site for disposal off-site.  These measures did not, however, address contaminated soil and the waste buried at the site.  Studies conducted on the site later resulted in remedial activities which included installation of a clay cap, a perimeter drainage system, monitoring wells, and a security fence. In the fall of 1988, reseeding and re-grading of the cap was necessary due to erosion problems. In March 1989, all remedial construction was completed. Operation and maintenance (O&M) activities were performed by EPA from September 1988 through February 1990. Thereafter, Kentucky assumed responsibility for  conducting Operations and Maintenance (O&M) at the site including ground water monitoring, and cap maintenance.  Funding of the O&M is obtained from a cost recovery settlement with the responsible parties for the site.