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Lee's Lane Landfill
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Main entrance gate to the Lee's Lane Landfill 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: KYD980557052Location: Louisville, Jefferson County, KY
Lat/Long: 38.191110, -085.883060
Congressional District: 03
NPL Status: Proposed: 12/30/82; Final: 09/08/83; Deleted: 04/25/96
Affected Media: Ground water, Sediment, Soil
Cleanup Status: Deleted from the NPL - Physical cleanup activities have been completed.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Potential for Recreational Use
Site Manager: Femi Akindele (akindele.femi@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Lee's Lane Landfill, located in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky is a 112-acre site that received over two million cubic yards of domestic, commercial, and industrial wastes between the 1940s and 1975. Sand and gravel quarrying also occurred on the site before and during the property's use as a landfill.
In 1975, residents living next to the site reported flash fires around their water heaters. After explosive levels of methane gas were detected, seven nearby homes were evacuated and purchased by local authorities. The landfill was closed by the State that same year. In 1980, State personnel discovered 400 exposed drums of hazardous materials, some highly flammable, along the Ohio River bank next to the landfill.
The majority of the 1,100 residents of a subdivision located adjacent to the landfill are connected to a public water supply system, which draws from an underlying aquifer.
Threats and Contaminants
Ground water, soil, and surface water were contaminated with benzene, inorganic chemicals, and heavy metals including lead and arsenic. The air was polluted with methane gas vented from the landfill. Exposed drums were found to contain more than 50 chemicals including phenolic resins, benzene, and a variety of heavy metals.
Site Cleanup Plan
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the site was issued in 1986. Major cleanup elements for the site included:
- Construct a ground water monitoring program that will serve as an early warning system should site conditions change.
- Control the vertical and lateral subsurface migration of methane and other gases.
- Institute a routine monitoring program that will serve to detect any undesirable and possibly dangerous levels of methane and/or toxic vapors migrating into the Riverside Gardens neighborhood.
- Institute an ambient air monitoring program.
Cleanup Progress
In 1980, after methane was discovered in nearby homes, the Kentucky Department of Hazardous Material installed a gas venting system at the landfill.
In 1981, the site owners pumped liquid wastes from the exposed drums found near the Ohio River. They shipped hazardous wastes to an approved disposal facility, removed the drums and other wastes from the river bank, and buried them on the site.
In 1987 and 1988, EPA emergency staff performed cleanup activities at the landfill, including site security, migration control, and the remedy selected in the ROD. EPA finished cleaning up the site in 1988.
Site cleanup activities were led primarily by EPA. The Lee's Lane Landfill site was deleted from the National Priorities List in May 1996.
Enforcement Activities
On July 16, 1991, the EPA issued an Administrative Order of Consent under which the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District agreed to perform operations and maintenance activities at the site for twenty-nine years with oversight from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Lee’s Lane Landfill 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, interviews, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
Operations and maintenance of the remedial action will continue at the site until its cleanup goals are met.
This site is subject to Five-Year Reviews, the most recent of which was completed in 2008. Based on recommendations from this review studies are underway to determine necessary repairs for the landfill gas collection system to ensure the site remains protective of human health and the environment. It is expected that repairs will be completed by December 2009.
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.
Western High School
2501 Rockford Lane
Shively, KY 40216
Jefferson County Commissioner's Office
Suite 202
Louisville, KY 40202
Administrative Record Index
- OU-1 (PDF) (30 pp, 731K, About PDF)
- Deletion (PDF) (5 pp, 173K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.