Buckeye Reclamation

Overview

Buckeye Reclamation is a 100-acre former landfill site about 4 miles southeast of St. Clairsville in Belmont County, Ohio. It accepted waste from 1971 to 1991. Coal mine waste and landfill operations contaminated soil and groundwater. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. The NPL is the federal list of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country.

Fourteen contaminants have been identified at the site. They appear in groundwater, surface water, leachate, and solid waste. The list includes heavy metals such as arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and nickel. It also includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, trichloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, and 1,1-dichloroethene. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are present as well. All 14 contaminants fall under a single cleanup area called Operable Unit 01.

The EPA selected a cleanup plan in August 1991. Construction ran from May 1999 to May 2003. The work included capping landfill areas, installing a groundwater and leachate collection system, building a wetland to treat leachate, adding fencing, and putting drainage and erosion controls in place. In February 2013, the property owner recorded an environmental covenant covering four parcels totaling 441 acres. That covenant limits the land to commercial and industrial uses, prohibits drilling, digging, and construction, and bans groundwater consumption on the property.

Human exposure at the site is currently under control. Contaminated groundwater migration has been stabilized, and there is no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The EPA removed the site from the NPL on September 30, 2019, after determining cleanup goals had been met. The most recent five-year review, completed in April 2025, found that cleanup actions remain protective of human health and the environment in the short term. Ongoing operation and maintenance, monitoring, and future five-year reviews are all that remain necessary.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. An administrative record with 380 documents is available for review, along with reports and NPL deletion docket materials.