Springfield Township Dump

Overview

Springfield Township Dump is a 4-acre former illegal waste disposal site in Davisburg, Michigan. Unauthorized chemical waste dumping occurred there from 1966 to 1968. The site was added to the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983, marking it as a priority for federal cleanup funding and oversight.

The site contains 18 contaminants of concern found in soil, groundwater, or both. These include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals such as arsenic, barium, and lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like trichloroethene and toluene, pesticides including dieldrin, chlorobenzene, and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate. Groundwater currently contains benzene, trichloroethylene, arsenic, and lead.

Cleanup construction ran from December 1993 through August 2000. Work included excavating contaminated surface soils, treating metals-laden soil, running soil vapor extraction on subsurface soils, and extracting and treating groundwater. The remedy was updated in June 1998 to swap out some original technologies for alternatives including thermal desorption and engineered capping. As of 2021, one extraction well pulls contaminated groundwater from the site, and treated water is reinjected to the south. Soil vapor extraction has since been discontinued, though the equipment remains on site. The site reached sitewide ready for anticipated reuse in September 2019, though it has not been deleted from the NPL.

The most recent five-year review, completed August 12, 2024, found that current response actions protect human health and the environment in the short term. Human exposure is under control, with no unacceptable exposure pathways identified. However, data on groundwater movement is not yet sufficient to confirm that contamination has stabilized in place, so long-term protectiveness is still being evaluated. Groundwater monitoring wells are sampled twice yearly, and the Michigan Health Department samples nearby residential wells annually. Institutional controls including zoning restrictions prevent land uses that are incompatible with the site's cleanup level. A future explanation of significant differences document is estimated between June and August 2026.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Site records, including 12 key documents and an administrative record of 321 documents, are available for public review at the Springfield Township Clerk's Office at 12000 Davisburg Road in Davisburg.