Red Penn Sanitation Company Landfill

• Site Profile
• Administrative Record Index (All PDF): OU1 (6 pp., 363K), Deletion (1 pp., 32K)
• 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 Red Penn Sanitation Company Landfill site covers approximately 150 acres. From 1954 to 1986, 85 acres of the property were used for waste disposal and the remaining land was used as borrow area. In 1959, the landfill was licenced by the Oldham County Health Department. Between 1968 and 1986, it operated as a 40-acre sanitary landfill under a licence by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Unauthorized disposal of industrial waste apparently occurred at the facility while in operations. Allegedly, between 2,000 and 3,000 drums of drawing solution from an electromagnetic wire manufacturing plant were buried in the landfill in addition to approximately 7,800 drums of paint waste from a truck company. To date this has not been confirmed. Initial site evaluations indicated that the soil and groundwater in the area could be contaminated with heavy metals such as lead and chromium, and volatile organic compounds such as toluene and xylene. A drainage ditch on the site was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl and selenium. Approximately 850 people obtain drinking water from wells within 3 miles of the site. Floyd's Fork, a major stream, borders the landfill and supplied water in the past to a nearby women's reformatory. Creeks bordering the site are used for fishing, swimming, and raising livestock.

Cleanup Progress: Remedial Action Completed, Site Monitoring In Progress
The operators of the landfill removed approximately 220 tons of drums and contaminated soil from the property under an order from the State in 1986. Subsequently, EPA evaluated the site for additional emergency response and concluded that no further removal action was necessary. An extensive investigation was conducted at the site by EPA to determine the extent and types of contamination present and to identify potential risks to human health and the environment. Based on the study, EPA concluded that the site did not pose human health or environmental risk, which would warrant a clean-up action under Superfund. However, because the landfill was never properly closed, EPA advised and worked with the State to enlist the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for appropriate actions. The PRPs agreed to design and install an approved cap on the landfill in 1999. The cap design included landfill regrading, installation of a geosynthetic clay liner and clean dirt, grass growing and site monitoring. Construction of the cap was completed in September 2000, under State supervision and the site was de-listed by EPA in June 2001.  Issues related to the site have been addressed by the State and the PRPs since its deletion from the National Priorities List (NPL).  However, EPA  may resume work on the site if new information indicates that it poses an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. No EPA Five-Year Reviews are required for the Site and no further updates are warranted at this time.