SCA Independent Landfill covers about 100 acres in Muskegon Heights, Michigan, and has been on the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) since September 8, 1983. The landfill itself takes up roughly one-third of the site. It stopped accepting waste in 1986 and closed in 1987, after spending most of the 1960s and 1970s taking in domestic and industrial waste.
The main contaminants are ammonia and manganese, which have reached groundwater, surface water, and wetlands. Isolated detections of other inorganic and organic contaminants have also been found across those same media.
The long-term cleanup remedy was finished in 2001. Work included improving the waste cover, managing surface water drainage, upgrading the leachate (liquid that drains through waste) collection system, and removing highly contaminated surface soil. A 2005 review by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) found that pathways for unacceptable human exposure are being controlled. Human exposure to contaminants is currently under control, with no unacceptable routes for people to come into contact with surface water, soil, or groundwater. However, whether contaminated groundwater migration has stabilized is not yet certain, and groundwater cleanup goals have not been fully reached. The remedy will be fully protective once leachate system enhancements and land use restrictions are in place and groundwater targets are met.
The potentially responsible party continues long-term groundwater and surface water monitoring. Zoning restrictions are in place to prevent residential development and reduce exposure. MDEQ is working with the responsible party to carry out remaining recommendations from the 2005 five-year review. The site has two operable units for cleanup tracking. Operable Unit 01, a state-led investigation and feasibility study that began October 15, 1993, has not yet produced a selected remedy or started remedial action. The site has not been deleted from the NPL and is not yet ready for anticipated reuse.
Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Remedial Project Manager. The EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program also works with communities to plan for future reuse of sites like this one, in ways consistent with the cleanup level achieved.
