Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
LIVINGSTON COUNTY
BRIGHTON

Congressional District # 08

RASMUSSEN'S DUMP

EPA ID# MID095402210
Last Updated: October, 2006

Site Description

The Rasmussen Dump is located on Spicer Road in Green Oak Township, Livingston County, Michigan, 40 miles West of Detroit and about 1.5 miles NE of Hamburg, Michigan, in a rural setting. The unlicensed dump accepted domestic and industrial wastes during the 1960s and early 1970s. Drummed and other industrial wastes were also disposed of at other locations onsite. The dump was never properly capped and "closed" prior to termination of operations. Sand and gravel mining, which began after closure in 1972, undermined the landfill and resulted in the redistribution of fill and drummed wastes. Low levels of volatile organic compound (VOC) groundwater contamination were detected in 1981. The site was placed on the federal National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. 

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through potentially responsible parties' actions under federal enforcement action.

Threats and Contaminants

A plume of contaminated groundwater extends to the northwest from the dump. Groundwater is contaminated with VOCs. Soil sampling by the state revealed polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and organic contamination near a drum pile on the eastern side of the site. In 1985, the state installed a fence around the site to eliminate the health risks from accidental ingestion of and direct contact with contaminated soils and groundwater. 

Cleanup Progress

In 1984, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Emergency Response Team removed 3,000 drums and 250 cubic yards of contaminated soils from the landfill. In August, 1989, U.S. EPA issued an Administrative Order on Consent for the removal of drums, wastes, and associated visibly contaminated soils to Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs), parties whom U.S. EPA has determined may be legally responsible for the site's contamination. Eleven PRPs signed the order that became effective in August 1989. Roughly 650 drums were unearthed and sent to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act facilities for disposal; the removal was completed in February 1990.

A Record of Decision (ROD), a public document identifying the site cleanup plan, was issued on March 28, 1991.  It called for a combined treatment remedy and landfill cap. The remedy constructed at the Rasmussen Dump site included a solid waste landfill cap and a pump-and-treat groundwater system. Operation and Maintenance (O & M) activities are proceeding. Data from the O&M monitoring indicated that revisions were required to capture and treat the groundwater plume as required by the ROD. 

A ROD amendment was signed in July 2001, allowing the PRPs to treat all plume fragments with in-situ ozone/oxygen oxidation.  The ozone/oxygen system equipment has been installed and is operational. Contingency plans included resuming the pump-and-treat if the ozone /oxygen system had not reduced the ground water contamination to clean up standards within three years.  The ozone/oxygen system remains as the remedy. 

A five-year review for the Rasmussen Site was issued on August 28, 2000.  The remedy was found to be protective of the public health and the environment.  Since start up, several adjustments have been made to the ozone/oxygen system, with continued removal of contamination. In October, 2003 chemical monitoring indicated satisfactory progress toward remedial goals.

A five-year review was issued on August 25, 2005.  The five-year review found that the remedy at Rasmussen's Dump currently protects human health and the environment because the source of contamination has been removed, the dump has been capped, the contaminated groundwater remains on-site, and the ozone sparging system is functioning to reduce the contaminants of concern.  However, in order for the remedy to be protective in the long-term, an institutional control study needs to be performed to ensure long-term protectiveness.  The PRPs provided U.S. EPA with a written commitment to perform an IC Study to assist in the evaluation of the long-term protectiveness of the ICs for the Rasmussen Site.  The PRPs provided this information and it is currently under U.S. EPA review.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
howard caine (caine.howard@epa.gov)
(312) 353-9685

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
Don De Blasio
(312) 886-9749

Site Profile Information

This profile provides you with information on EPA's cleanup progress at this Superfund site.