Howe Valley Landfill operated as an industrial waste landfill from 1967 to 1976 on a 2.5-acre portion of an 11-acre property in Howe Valley, Kentucky. Operators disposed of drums of sludge and bulk wastes from manufacturing and insulation operations. After the state landfill permit expired, Kentucky regulators found exposed waste and drums on the surface in 1979. Groundwater sampling showed the site was contaminating local groundwater, which led EPA to add it to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1987. The NPL is the federal government's roster of hazardous waste sites that need cleanup attention.
EPA identified seven contaminants of concern, all found in soil. They are 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethene (a mix of cis and trans forms), chromium, copper, cyanide compounds, tetrachloroethene, and zinc. These are substances EPA determined posed an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.
EPA issued a cleanup plan in 1990 calling for removing 100 cubic yards of soil with high inorganic contaminant levels, treating 7,400 cubic yards of central area soils through on-site aeration, and installing water diversion ditches. The 1993 modification to that plan added an aeration basin for pump-and-treat operations along with onsite recycling, acid extraction, and carbon adsorption for liquid treatment. Dow Corning, the lead potentially responsible party, completed all cleanup work by September 1994 and removed all contamination from the site. EPA deleted the site from the NPL in July 1996. Deed restrictions now limit future uses of the property and its groundwater, and no further Superfund actions are required.
EPA confirms that human exposure is under control across the entire site, with no unacceptable exposure pathways currently existing. All cleanup goals for current and reasonably anticipated future land uses have been met. The site reached sitewide readiness for anticipated reuse in June 2006. Because the site has been deleted from the NPL, no further Five-Year Reviews will be conducted. The site profile page remains available for historical reference. Community members with questions can contact the EPA Remedial Project Manager.
