Lewisburg Dump

• Site Profile
• Administrative Record Index (All PDF): OU1 (14 pp., 584K), Deletion (3 pp., 114K)
• 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 Lewisburg Dump site is a 20-acre tract of farmland located less than one mile north of Lewisburg, Tennessee. The property contains an abandoned limestone quarry and a pond. The City of Lewisburg owned and operated the dump, using approximately 4 acres in the western portion of the quarry as a landfill, between the late 1950s and 1979. The landfill was made available to all surrounding communities for both residential and industrial waste dumping. In 1973, the Tennessee Department of Public Health (TDPH) conducted a study of the dump and declared the old quarry unfit for the current use. This led to the final closure of the landfill by the City in 1979. EPA inspected the site in 1982, and determined that wastes in the landfill included adhesives, metal cuttings, sawdust, pencil cores, cosmetic powders, and shoe linings. The study concluded that contaminants at the site included organic compounds such as bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, methylene chloride, xylene, carbon disulfide and toluene. The inorganic compounds were heavy metals such as arsenic, copper, mercury, chromium, lead, and zinc. The major potential health concern related to the site included possible groundwater contamination, leachate generation, and direct exposure of trespassers to the exposed landfill wastes due to deteriorating cap. Approximately 123 households were identified within a 2-mile radius of the site. About 70 of these households depended on private water wells for domestic and/or livestock purposes when the site was discovered.

Cleanup Progress: Construction Completed
EPA conducted several studies on the site and concluded in the ROD of
September 1990, that a remedial action was necessary in order to alleviate potential human health and environmental problems. The selected remedy included removal and disposal of all surface debris at the site, reconstruction and upgrading of landfill and test pit covers,
institutional control, and long-term monitoring. The City of Lewisburg and other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) agreed to perform the
remedial action with EPAoversight under a consent decree signed in 1991. Construction began immediately and all remedial activities were completed between September 1992, and September 1993. Overall, 382 cubic yards of debris and soil, 172 tires, 50 empty drums and 2 drums of lead paint and sludge were removed from the site. These were disposed of properly at approved facilities. EPA and TDEC performed a final inspection of the remedial action in September 1993, and determined that the selected remedy had been successfully implemented. The PRPs initiated site maintenance and monitoring activities in 1993, including regular site inspection and groundwater sampling. Laboratory results and other site reports have confirmed that the cleanup was successful and that the site no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment. The site was deleted from the National Priorities List in February 1996.