Richardson Hill Road Landfill/Pond is a former municipal and industrial waste dump in Sidney Center, New York. It operated from 1964 to 1969, accepting municipal waste and spent oils from an industrial facility. The EPA placed it on the National Priorities List in 1987, and it remains listed today. Cleanup has been organized under one operable unit covering sediment, soil, and groundwater.
Contaminants found at the site include Aroclor 1248, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), arsenic, and trichloroethene. These were detected in groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment. A fish kill in South Pond in 1993 triggered early action and confirmed the extent of contamination.
Cleanup has happened in stages. Starting in 1993, responsible parties excavated about 2,200 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, installed systems to intercept contaminated water, and replaced drinking water supplies at affected homes. The long-term cleanup plan, selected in 1997, called for excavating contaminated soil and sediment, capping the landfill, building a disposal cell for PCB waste, and extracting and treating groundwater. Soil and sediment work and capping were finished by 2006. A groundwater extraction and treatment system has run since 2004. When additional contamination was found southeast of the main interceptor trench between 2007 and 2008, a new recovery well was installed and tied into the existing treatment system. Two updates to the original remedy were made, in 2008 and 2016, refining the approach and adding institutional controls.
As of the most recent five-year review completed in April 2022, human exposure is under control and contaminated groundwater migration has been stabilized. Physical construction is complete across the entire site, and the site has achieved sitewide ready for anticipated use status. The groundwater extraction system continues to run at a low rate to protect nearby wetlands. The 2022 review confirmed short-term protectiveness but noted that long-term protectiveness requires further evaluation of the groundwater capture system in the eastern part of the site. The next five-year review is scheduled for April 2027.
Community members who want to learn more or review site records can visit the EPA Superfund Records Center at 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, New York, or the Sidney Memorial Public Library at 8 River Road in Sidney, New York.
