Dixie Caverns County Landfill

Overview

Dixie Caverns County Landfill covers 39 acres in Salem, Virginia. It operated as an unlicensed municipal landfill from 1965 to 1976, accepting both municipal and industrial waste. EPA placed it on the National Priorities List in 1989 and later deleted it in 2001 after cleanup was finished.

The main contaminants are cadmium, lead, and zinc. These metals originated in a fly ash pile and spread through runoff into nearby drainage areas and stream sediments. The site also held aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organic chemicals in a drum disposal area. Affected media include soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater.

Cleanup happened in two phases. In the first phase, EPA removed 300 drums, 500 cubic yards of sludge and contaminated soil, and about 9,000 cubic yards of fly ash for off-site disposal and treatment. In the second phase, starting in 1993, crews removed and treated contaminated stream sediments and soil beneath the fly ash pile. Stabilized material went into an onsite landfill that was capped and certified closed. A small fly ash pocket was covered with 7 feet of clay. Construction wrapped up in September 1997. The site achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in May 2009.

The 2022 Five-Year Review found that cleanup remains protective of human health and the environment in the short term. An ecological health assessment is needed for continued long-term protectiveness. Human exposure pathways are no longer a concern, and groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Institutional controls remain in place through county zoning that prohibits digging, construction, and disturbance of the landfill cap, wastewater systems, and groundwater monitoring wells. The Roanoke County Police Department now uses the property as a training facility with classrooms and an outdoor shooting range. The next five-year review is scheduled for 2027.

Community members can get involved through EPA's Community Involvement Program. A Community Relations Plan has been in place since 1990. To ask questions or learn more, contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Nancy Cruz or Remedial Project Manager Lisa Denmark. Site records are available at Glenvar Library in Salem or at EPA's Region 3 office in Philadelphia.