EPA RCRA ID: PAD005820691
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
In September 2002, EPA determined that contamination in groundwater and human exposures risk from contaminants were under control.
The landfill operates under PADEP Solid Waste Permit No. 100403. EPA has evaluated the closure and post-closure measures taken at the Facility under the PADEP permit. EPA believes that the past actions and current/future requirements under the permit address the corrective action issues.
EPA issued a Corrective Action Statement of Basis (SB) in August 2014. The SB described the environmental conditions at the site and asked for public comments on EPA's tentative decision. In September 2014, EPA issued a Final Decision requiring continued compliance with the PA Solid Waste Permit
Cleanup Background
The Seneca Landfill (formerly Vogel Disposal Services) is an operating Municipal Waste Landfill. As such, current and future access is restricted to required operation and maintenance activity. The facility is fenced to prevent unauthorized access. Current and future groundwater use is restricted to monitoring and maintenance activities.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) routinely inspects the facility for compliance with its permit requirements (Solid Waste Permit No. 100403). Groundwater is monitored as part of the Facility-wide monitoring required under the State Permit. There are currently nine groundwater monitoring wells; three upgradient wells, one side-gradient well, and five downgradient wells. The groundwater is monitored on a quarterly schedule, as prescribed by the State Permit.
The groundwater beneath the Facility is contaminated with brines from past oil and gas drilling operations that were conducted near the Facility, and acid mine drainage from past mining operations. Current monitoring results show no organic compounds in the groundwater. Indicator parameters and metals are detected at elevated levels; primarily sodium, chloride, sulfate, iron and manganese. Those parameters are present at elevated levels in both the upgradient and downgradient wells, and are attributed to former oil and gas drilling and coal mining operations near the Facility.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Facility is located on Hartman Road in Lancaster and Jackson Townships, Butler County, Pennsylvania. It is situated on approximately 268 acres of land just east of Harmony, Pennsylvania, and is surrounded by a mix of industrial property, farm land and wooded land.
The Facility is an active municipal waste disposal facility permitted under the Solid Waste Permit which was initially issued in July 1973 and most recently reissued in September 2017. The Facility is also subject to the post-closure requirements of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) under the authorized state hazardous waste program.
The Facility landfill consists of four fill areas. The four landfill areas occupy approximately 100 acres of the Facility. Areas A, B, and C pre-date Area D. Area D is the active landfill area. It overtops part of Area A and all of Areas B and C. Area A and Area B contain some hazardous waste. They were closed under PADEP-approved closure plans, which are incorporated into and enforceable under the Solid Waste Permit.
Leachate from the Landfill is collected and transported by pipe to an on-site treatment system prior to discharge to Connoquenessing Creek.
Contaminants at this Facility
The groundwater beneath the Facility is contaminated with brines from past oil and gas drilling operations that were conducted near the Facility, and acid mine drainage from past mining operations.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The PADEP Solid Waste Permit imposes land-use restrictions on the property. Current and future access is restricted to authorized personnel. The facility is fenced to prevent unauthorized access. The landfill sections are being capped as filing operations are completed in each section of Area D. A RCRA cap will cover the entire landfill area when the landfill reached capacity, as prescribed in the PADEP Permit. Current and future groundwater use is restricted to monitoring and maintenance activities.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.