North Sanitary Landfill

Overview

North Sanitary Landfill, also known as Valleycrest Landfill, covers 102 acres in Dayton, Ohio. Industrial and municipal wastes were dumped into unlined former gravel pits across five disposal areas. The site sits atop a federally designated sole-source aquifer and was added to the National Priorities List in 1994. Residents with affected drinking water wells were connected to the City of Dayton water supply.

Contaminants found in groundwater, landfill gas, solid waste, free-phase nonaqueous phase liquid, and leachate include volatile organic compounds such as benzene, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and vinyl chloride. Heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium have also been detected. The site contains pesticides and herbicides such as atrazine, chlordane, and toxaphene, along with PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, and other chemicals.

EPA ran a removal program from 1998 to 2003 that took out contaminated drums and soils, installed a landfill gas abatement system, and treated some soils with vapor extraction. A remedy was selected in 2013 and calls for a multi-layer cap over 70 acres, a leachate extraction system, and a permanent landfill gas collection system. A federal court approved a $35 million consent decree in October 2018, requiring potentially responsible parties to fund the work. Construction began in July 2022. Physical construction was completed in October 2023, and EPA approved the Remedial Action Construction Report on February 23, 2024. The sources differ slightly on when final remedial action was fully complete, citing both September 2024 and October 2023 at different points. Operation and maintenance work is currently ongoing. The site achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in August 2025. A five-year review is estimated between March and May 2027.

EPA has determined that human exposure is under control and that contaminated groundwater is stabilized within the original contamination area. Indoor air sampling at homes and businesses near the landfill found all detected levels below health-based action levels. No evidence of off-site contaminant migration was found.

Community members can stay involved through the Behr, Valleycrest and Valley Pike Community Advisory Group, which has co-hosted three technical assistance sessions with EPA on topics including vapor intrusion, the remedial investigation and feasibility study process, and remedy selection. Questions and answers from all three sessions are available to the public.