Saco Municipal Landfill

Overview

The Saco Municipal Landfill is a 90-acre Superfund site in Saco, Maine, owned and operated by the City of Saco since 1960. The landfill accepted household waste and tannery sludge containing chromium, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds. EPA added it to the National Priorities List in February 1990 due to contamination risks. The site has been organized into operable units covering the entire property, with a Record of Decision issued on September 29, 2000.

The contaminants of concern are arsenic, benzene, and manganese, all found in groundwater across the site. An area of arsenic-contaminated sediments was excavated and placed under a cap. The landfill cap, completed in 1998, reduces leachate generation and supports groundwater recovery. Groundwater contamination is being addressed through monitored natural attenuation, meaning the site relies on natural processes to reduce contamination over time while EPA and partners track progress.

EPA, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the City of Saco have shared responsibility for managing the cleanup. A removal action ran from May 1997 to November 1999. Construction of the remedy was completed on September 29, 2000. The site reached sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status on December 21, 2010. Physical construction is complete across the entire site, human exposure is under control, and contaminated groundwater is stabilized in its original area. Long-term groundwater and sediment monitoring continues. Five-year reviews have been conducted regularly since 2005, with the most recent completed on September 8, 2025. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.

The city has put portions of the site to productive community use. In 2001, wildlife habitat was developed in a former gravel and sand pit, and wetland areas were constructed next to Sandy Brook. By 2003, two soccer fields for elementary and middle school children were built, and plans were developed for hiking, biking, ice skating, and soccer. Institutional controls, including zoning restrictions that prevent residential development, remain in place and will stay in effect as long as contamination and cleanup components remain on site.

Community members can review site records at EPA's public information repository, at City Hall in Saco, at Dyer Library on Main Street, or at the EPA Region 1 Records and Information Center in Boston. For questions, the Community Involvement Coordinator and Remedial Project Manager are available to help.