Lemon Lane Landfill

Overview

Lemon Lane Landfill operated as a 10-acre waste disposal site in Bloomington, Indiana, from 1933 to 1964. Metal scavengers broke open electrical capacitors at the site between 1958 and 1964, releasing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, into the landfill. PCBs have been found in soil, sediment, and groundwater at the site. The capacitors were linked to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, now operating as CBS Corporation.

Emergency cleanup began in 1987 when Westinghouse removed exposed capacitors and contaminated soils, incinerated about 400 capacitors, and capped the site with a synthetic liner. Full source area remediation was finished by 2000 and included removing PCB hot spots, consolidating the landfill, and capping it. Groundwater and sediment work wrapped up by 2012 and included excavating contaminated sediment and building a water treatment plant. That plant processes 6,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated spring water per minute. As of March 2021, about 2.4 billion gallons of spring water had been treated. CBS continues to operate the treatment plant and monitor the landfill and nearby springs.

Human exposure to contamination is under control. Groundwater migration is stabilized, and EPA has found no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The landfill cap limits contact with soil contaminants and reduces additional contamination reaching groundwater. A fish advisory for Clear Creek had previously prohibited eating any fish, and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has since reduced that advisory to allow one meal per month. Institutional controls restrict development on the landfill cap and in the drainage area.

The site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List on September 8, 1983, and deleted from that list on September 14, 2021, after all cleanup goals were met. The site is considered ready for anticipated reuse. A long-term groundwater monitoring program remains ongoing under EPA oversight, and five-year reviews will continue as part of long-term site management. The most recent five-year review was completed on May 15, 2025.

Community members with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Site records are available for public review at Indiana University's Herman B Wells Library at 1320 R. 10th Street in Bloomington.