Pepe Field in Boonton, New Jersey is a former landfill that operated from the 1920s until 1950. The E.F. Drew Company used it to dispose of waste from edible oil and cleaning product manufacturing. The Town of Boonton bought the property in the mid-1960s and built a recreation facility on top of it, but biological decay of buried waste produced strong hydrogen sulfide odors. The recreation field eventually closed due to contamination concerns. EPA added the site to its National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983.
EPA identified nine contaminants of concern, all within the Gas Collection and Treatment operable unit. These include alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane in leachate, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in soil and leachate, carbon disulfide in soil, hydrogen sulfide in landfill gas and soil, methane in soil, methanethiol in soil, and nickel in soil. EPA selected these substances for cleanup after determining they posed an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.
A 1989 Record of Decision called for a site cover, landfill gas collection and treatment, leachate management, and groundwater monitoring. EPA updated the remedy in July 1997 to allow waste stabilization before removal. Crews stabilized, excavated, and treated about 50,000 cubic yards of waste material, then backfilled with clean soil. The removed waste was disposed of offsite. All restoration work finished in 2002, and EPA deleted the site from the NPL in July 2003.
Today, human exposure is under control and groundwater migration is stabilized, with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The site has achieved Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use status, meaning all cleanup goals for current and reasonably anticipated future land uses have been met and required land-use controls are in place. The restored recreational facility reopened in 2000 and now includes a little league field, walking paths, a playground, a basketball court, a gazebo, and a concession stand.
Community members with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Shereen Kandil, by phone or email. Site documents are also available for in-person review at the Boonton Holmes Public Library at 621 Main Street, Boonton, New Jersey, or at EPA's Superfund Records Center at 290 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, New York.
