Wauconda Sand and Gravel Site

Site Information

Wauconda, IL (Lake County)

EPA ID# ILD047019732
NPL Listing
NPL Factsheet
CERCLIS listing

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Susan Pastor (pastor.susan@epa.gov)
312-353-1325 or 800-621-8431, ext. 31325

Remedial Project Manager
Sheri Bianchin (bianchin.sheri@epa.gov)
312-886-4745 or 800-621-8431, ext. 64745

Don Bruce (bruce.donald@epa.gov), Remedial Section Chief
312-886-7241

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Wauconda Area Library
801 N. Main St.
Wauconda, IL 60084
847-526-6225

Links

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Background

From about 1955 until 1978, the 60-acre Wauconda Sand and Gravel site operated as a municipal waste landfill and received approximately 3 million cubic yards of waste that were placed in both licensed and unlicensed areas of the property.

In 1978, the entire site was closed and covered with a layer of clay, soil and vegetation. Sampling at the site the found the groundwater (underground water) to be contaminated with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and pesticides.
In 1986, US EPA, Illinois EPA and the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) reached an administrative order on consent to investigate and clean up the site .
By 1987, all of the initial cleanup actions had been completed, though some improvements were made in the 1990s.
In fall 2003, however, random sampling of residential wells by the Lake County Health Department indicated vinyl chloride contamination in 3 wells. Subsequent sampling detected vinyl chloride in approximately 88 residential wells. EPA issued a unilateral administrative order to the PRPs requiring additional investigation.

The PRP group then asked that EPA allow them to provide bottled water to the affected residents and connect nearly 400 residents to the Village of Wauconda's municipal water-supply system in lieu of complying with the requirements of the unilateral administrative order. EPA accepted this proposal.

In early 2009, EPA and the PRPs entered into a legal agreement called a Consent Decree in federal court which required the PRPs to conduct additional work to ensure that the remedy remains protective. Those actions have been underway and include:

performing cap repairs and upgrades as needed,
monitoring and evaluating leachate and gas migration,
taking steps to implement effective institutional controls and
preparing a long-term stewardship plan along with continuing monitoring and maintenance activities.

Site Updates || Technical Documents | Five-Year Reviews | Legal Documents

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Site Updates

April 2013

EPA completed a review of the site's cleanup. This type of review is required at least every five years where the cleanup is complete but hazardous waste remains managed on-site. These reviews are done to ensure that the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment.
The review included: