Upper Deerfield Township Sanitary Landfill

Overview

The Upper Deerfield Township Sanitary Landfill is a 14-acre inactive landfill in Upper Deerfield Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey. It accepted household, commercial, and municipal waste from 1960 to 1983. Before that, Seabrook Farms Inc. operated a gravel pit and waste disposal facility on the property from 1938 to 1960, leaving behind pesticide residues. Landfill operations contaminated groundwater with mercury and volatile organic compounds, which are chemicals that can evaporate into the air. In February 1980, sampling confirmed these contaminants had reached residential drinking water wells.

The Township responded quickly by supplying bottled water to affected households and then installing permanent water lines. A public water supply well and distribution system were finished in 1986, and all households were connected that year. EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in September 1984. A combined investigation and study ran from 1987 to 1991. EPA identified 41 contaminants of concern in groundwater and soil, including benzene, toluene, tetrachloroethene, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, and naphthalene.

The investigation concluded that groundwater and soil contamination no longer posed a health threat under current or likely future land use conditions. In September 1991, EPA issued a decision calling for no further remedial action, only ongoing monitoring of air and groundwater. Construction of the cleanup was completed in September 1993. EPA has conducted five-year reviews of the site in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2015 to confirm the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. The site was deleted from the National Priorities List in June 2000. Human exposure is under control, all cleanup goals have been met, and the site is ready for anticipated use.

Community members who want to learn more can review site documents at the Upper Deerfield Municipal Building in Bridgeton, the Upper Deerfield Township Public Library, or EPA's Superfund Records Center in New York City. Six key documents and five publicly available documents are also accessible through EPA's online system.