Brantley Landfill

• Site Profile
• 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 Brantley Landfill Site in McLean County, Kentucky is a 4-acre site that operated under an industrial landfill permit for the disposal of salt cake fines, a by-product of the secondary recovery of aluminum. Approximately 250,000 tons of salt cake fines were disposed of at the site from 1978 until its closure in 1980. The waste was deposited in pond water in the pit and also below the water table. A layer of soil placed over the landfill area during closure was partially eroded, and some waste material was exposed. In 1986, EPA conducted air monitoring in the vicinity of the Brantley Landfill. Ammonia was found in most samples downwind from the disposal area. Moreover, the Kentucky Division of Air Pollution received numerous complaints from residents of ammonia odor. In 1987, EPA collected soil, water, and sediment samples at and around the landfill which showed contamination at the site. Land use within a 1-mile radius of the site is primarily agricultural and residential. Approximately 200 people live within 1/4 mile of the site. There are six private wells within a 1-mile radius of the site; the closest is approximately 500 feet to the north of the landfill and belongs to the current site owner. Soil beneath the landfill cap is contaminated with heavy metals including chromium, copper, titanium, vanadium, aluminum, magnesium, and sodium from former waste disposal practices. The salt cake fines contain various heavy metals and react with water to form several gases, including ammonia, acetylene, methane, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. Placement of wastes below the water table could have caused groundwater contamination, which could have affected drinking water sources. The site was fenced by the Barmet Aluminum Corporation (now Commonwealth Aluminum), potentially reponsible party, to restrict access.

Cleanup Progress: Second Five Year Review

During August and September 1993, Barmet Aluminum performed minimal cap repairs to prevent further erosion and exposure of waste material. In 1994, EPA selected a cleanup remedy for the site, and in March 1995 EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Barmet Aluminum for the Remedial Design (RD) and Remedial Action (RA) at the Site. Fourteen additional monitoring wells and six piezometers were installed in and around the landfill between September and November 1995. The RA was initiated on June 24, 1997. The PRP conducted the following remedial activities: installation of a landfill cap on the northern end and interior area of the Site; construction of three ditches with temporary erosion control matting placed in the bottom and sidewalls; placement of a temporary erosion control matting in steep areas of the interior area and the swale; and, installation of an erosion control/turf reinforcement mat on a natural drainage ditch encountered to the east of the originally designed riprap chute. Following the Remedial Action , the PRP conducted a monitoring of air emissions to confirm that ammonia emissions from the landfill have been mitigated by the landfill cap. Air monitoring continues. A Preliminary Close-out Report (PCOR) was completed in August 1998. The first Five-year review was completed in September 2002.  The second Five-year review was completed in September 2007. The reviews have found the remedy at the site protective of human health and the environment. Operation and maintenance activities continue at the site.  The next Five year review is scheduled for September 2012.