Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
LIVINGSTON COUNTY
GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP

Congressional District # 08

SPIEGELBERG LANDFILL

EPA ID# MID980794481
Last Updated: October, 2006

Site Description

The Spiegelberg site is located about 40 miles west of Detroit and 1.5 miles northeast of Hamburg in Green Oak Township, Livingston County, Michigan, on Spicer Road.  The Spiegelberg site is surrounded by woods, open fields, and rural residences.  An area on the northern part of the property was used for disposal of domestic, industrial, and septic waste materials as early as 1966 and continued until at least 1977.  A paint sludge disposal area covered an area of about one-half acre in the northern third of the property at the base of a sand and gravel quarry.  Sand, gravel, and peat deposits continue to be mined on the property.  Preliminary sampling and analysis of groundwater in the paint sludge area indicated the presence of high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inorganic compounds. 

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through Potentially Responsible Party actions with oversight by the federal and state.

Threats and Contaminants

Lead, VOCs, and other organics are present in the groundwater.  Soil is contaminated with lead, VOCs, and other organics.  Potential health threats to people include accidentally ingesting or coming into direct contact with contaminated groundwater or soil. 

Cleanup Progress

On September 30, 1986, a source control Record of Decision (ROD) was signed, which called for the removal and offsite treatment of wastes and contaminated soils from the area containing paint sludges and other industrial wastes.  A Consent Decree for the cleanup action was entered into between the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Michigan, and Ford Motor Company on December 28, 1988.  All contaminated soil was removed down to the ground water table, and disposed of offsite.  A second ROD was signed on August 31, 1989, for the groundwater contamination.  The selected cleanup action is a pump-and-treat system with reinjection of the treated groundwater.  The pump-and-treat process operated for about two years.  An Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) was issued on October 22, 1998, allowing for intermittent operation of the pump-and-treat sytem (shut down but on stand by status) and a change of the ROD cleanup standards to be consistent with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Part 201 cleanup standards.  The site is now in the demonstration monitoring period.  The pump-and-treat remedy will be reinitiated if any semiannual sampling event shows contaminant concentration above the ESD cleanup requirements.  A five-year review report for the site was issued on January 8, 2000.  The remedy remains protective of public health and the environment. 

The second five-year review report was issued on January 28, 2005.  The review found that the confirmation monitoring period (post intermittent pumping monitoring) consisted of twelve monitoring events from September 1998 to December 2004.  The monitoring results have demonstrated continued compliance with the 1998 Cleanup Standards, and has established that the Site has achieved groundwater cleanup goals.  No contaminanats of concern have been found above Maximum Contaminant Limits since 1998.  In addition, no other Hazardous Substance List (HSL) compounds were detected above risk based levels for the final December 2004 monitoring event.  The HSL analysis included all chemicals found during the Remedial Investigation (RI).  Conducting the HSL analysis insured that all chemicals found during the RI were below health based values.  The second five-year review concluded that the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment.

U.S. EPA will be ensuring that the PRPs have completed all response actions so that site conditions remain protective of human health and the environment.  Once this review is completed and all work is completed, U.S. EPA will begin the deletion process from the NPL.

Contacts

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

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
cheryl allen
(312) 353-6196

Aliases

SPIEGELBERG LDFL

 

Site Profile Information

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