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Newport Dump

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Vegetated landfill cap on western edge of site.
- Additional Site Photos
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Additional Resources
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: KYD985066380
Location: Wilder, Campbell County, KY
Lat/Long: 39.070720, -084.491220
Congressional District: 04
NPL Status: Proposed: 12/30/82; Final: 09/08/83; Deleted: 06/03/96
Affected Media: Ground water, Leachate, Soil, Surface Water
Cleanup Status: Deleted from the NPL
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: None
Site Manager: William Joyner (joyner.william@epa.gov)


Site Background

The Newport Dump site is a former municipal landfill located in Wilder, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. The site, purchased by the City of Newport in the late 1940s, covers 29 acres and was used for disposal of residential and commercial waste from the 1940s until its closure in 1979. Trenching and area filling of the waste were the most common methods used to dispose of waste at the site.

Late in 1979, ownership of the landfill was transferred to the Northern Kentucky Port Authority (NKPA) with the understanding that the NKPA would complete remediation at the site. A closure agreement between the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (KDNREP) and NKPA required NKPA to install a leachate collection system, regrade portions of the site, construct a clay cap over the waste, and seed the area with grass.

Approximately 1,200 people reside within a 1-mile radius of the site. The nearby Licking River, which flows into the Ohio River, is used for recreational activities. Use of ground water in the vicinity is minimal but, approximately 250 feet downstream of the site the Kenton County water district maintains a raw water intake from the Licking River for the Taylor Mill Water Treatment Plant.

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Threats and Contaminants

Contaminants in ground water and surface water included heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and polychlorinated byphenils (PCBs) from former waste disposal activities. Soils on site were contaminated with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, and PCBs from leachate and runoff.

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Site Cleanup Plan

The Record of Decision (ROD) for the site was finalized in 1987. Major cleanup elements for the site included:

In 1995, EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) for the site. The ESD documented the installation of the new culvert discussed above and the decision not to restart the leachate collection system.

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Cleanup Progress

In 1980, the NKPA (now known as the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation), installed a leachate collection system, regraded portions of the site, constructed a clay cap over the waste, and covered the area with vegetation. In response to another order, a permanent vegetative cover was installed and design of a ground water monitoring system began.

In mid 1987, EPA, with KDNREP concurrence, installed eight gas monitoring wells. In 1990, EPA shut off the power to the leachate collection system because the system appeared to be collecting contaminated ground water.

During 1991 and early 1992, an area on the river terrace along the western edge of the site was cleared and trenched for installation of a sanitary sewer line.

Two additional monitoring wells were installed in 2006 adjacent to the Licking River to monitor ground water on the western side of the site.

Operation and Maintenance activities at the Newport site consists of annual site inspections, ground water and surface water sampling, and landfill gas monitoring performed at pre-determined locations.

Four Five-Year Reviews (FYRs) have been completed for the Newport site - 1993, 1997, 2002, and 2007.  The 2007 FYR found that the site currently protects human health and the environment in the short-term, but that additional study to investigate changing site conditions, including an increase in gas production from the landfill and changes in ground water contamination, was recommended.

Site cleanup activities have been undertaken by potentially responsible parties (PRPs) with oversight by EPA.

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Enforcement Activities

In 1992, EPA entered into a Consent Decree with PRPs at the site.

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Community Involvement

EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Newport 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.

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Future Work

Operation and Maintenance activities continue at the site.

The City of Newport and the Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation are investigating possible redevelopment options for the site and surrounding properties.

The next FYR for the site is scheduled for 2012.

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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.

Campbell County Library
403 Monmouth St.
Newport, KY 41071

Administrative Record Index

For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.

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For information about the contents of this page please contact Donna Bledsoe.


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