EPA has modified the groundwater and waste cleanup plan for the Lemberger Landfill and Lemberger Transport & Recycling Superfund Sites, Route 1 Hampton Lake Road, Whitelaw, Wis., near the Branch River. The changes will protect public health and the environment and provide a cost-effective cleanup that meets all applicable state and federal standards. In 1969, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources licensed the 40-acre Lemberger Landfill site for sanitary waste disposal. The same year, DNR also licensed the 40-acre LTR site nearby for industrial waste disposal. From 1970 to 1976, wastes were disposed of in an unlined 16-acre area at the LTR site.
As required by Superfund law, EPA has completed five 5-year reviews of the Lemberger sites since cleanup was completed in 1995. EPA found that the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment. Part of the cleanup included installation of a groundwater pump and treat system that operated for 11 years until it was no longer cost-effectively removing additional contamination. To address this issue, modifications to the cleanup plan include:
- Revising the groundwater cleanup for both sites from extracting and treating contaminated groundwater to a process called “monitored natural attenuation” to clean-up the remaining groundwater contamination.
- Revised groundwater cleanup standards for some contaminants of concern at both sites.
- Requiring additional controls for wastes at the LTR site to prevent future risk.
The next scheduled 5-year review of the site will be in 2025.