The Suffolk City Landfill covers 67 acres in Suffolk, Virginia. It operated as a sanitary landfill from 1967 to 1985, accepting municipal solid waste along with pesticides and chemical waste. Those operations contaminated soil and groundwater at the site. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in February 1990 and later deleted it in January 1995 after cleanup goals were met.
Contaminants of concern at the site include aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, cyanide, manganese, nickel, and zinc. These substances were found in sediment, surface water, and groundwater. A study completed in 1992 found that pesticide contamination no longer existed at the site because those substances break down naturally over time.
The City of Suffolk led several key cleanup actions. In 1988, the City covered, graded, and replanted the landfill. It also installed a leachate collection and treatment system and placed deed restrictions on the site to protect the landfill cap. Construction of the cleanup was finished on September 30, 1992. The leachate collection system was taken out of operation in 2014 after Virginia authorities approved that step. No further cleanup was deemed necessary after the 1992 study.
Human exposure is under control across the entire site, and contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Institutional controls remain in place to restrict groundwater use and prevent residential development that would be inconsistent with the cleanup level achieved. The EPA's 2014 Five-Year Review, the fourth and final review conducted at the site, confirmed that the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment.
Community members who want more information can contact the EPA site team directly. Public records related to the site are available at the Suffolk Public Library Main Branch in Suffolk and at the EPA Region III office in Philadelphia. Appointments to view files at the EPA office can be scheduled by calling (215) 814-2396.
