Old Springfield Landfill operated from 1947 to 1968, accepting hazardous industrial waste mixed with municipal trash. After closing, the land became a mobile home park. Volatile organic compounds turned up in a nearby spring and a residential well in 1984, triggering a full EPA investigation and the extension of a safe water line to affected homes. The site was added to the National Priorities List on September 8, 1983, and has remained on that list through the most recent five-year review in July 2023.
The site has 34 confirmed contaminants of concern spread across soil, groundwater, and leachate. Soil holds benzene, cadmium, mercury, PCBs, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Groundwater and leachate carry volatile organic compounds including trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, vinyl chloride, 1,1-dichloroethene, and benzene. On-site workers and nearby residents faced risks from contact with or ingestion of contaminated groundwater, surface water, soils, and sediments.
Cleanup is organized into two operable units. The first, focused on managing the migration of contamination, uses groundwater extraction wells and a leachate collection system. Treated water is discharged to the town's wastewater treatment plant after air stripping removes contaminants. The second unit handles source control through slope stabilization, passive gas vents, french drains, surface water diversions, and an engineered landfill cap with carbon adsorption of vapors. Remedial construction finished on September 22, 1994. The Town of Springfield now operates and maintains the systems under court-ordered agreements. Institutional controls, including zoning restrictions and excavation limits, are also in place to prevent incompatible land uses and protect the cleanup infrastructure.
EPA assessments from the most recent five-year review confirm that human exposure is under control across the entire site and that contaminated groundwater migration has stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. All cleanup goals have been achieved, and the site reached "sitewide ready for anticipated reuse" status in November 2008. Long-term monitoring of groundwater and treated water continues. The next five-year review is estimated between July and September 2028.
Community members can review site documents at the Springfield Public Library in Springfield or at the EPA Region 1 Records and Information Center in Boston. The site has 50 publicly available documents, including five-year review reports and Records of Decision. Anyone planning activities on or near the site should contact the EPA project contacts or the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to understand which use restrictions apply and to review any institutional control instruments that have been recorded, including a deed notice filed in September 2024.
