New Lyme Landfill

Overview

New Lyme Landfill sits in New Lyme, Ohio, in Ashtabula County. It operated from 1969 to 1978 and accepted household, industrial, commercial, and institutional waste, along with construction debris. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) on September 8, 1983. The NPL is the federal list of the most contaminated sites in the country that qualify for Superfund cleanup funding.

The landfill received hazardous materials including coal tar, asbestos, chlorinated solvents, paint sludge, and laboratory chemicals. Those materials contaminated soil, sediment, leachate, and groundwater. EPA identified over 100 contaminants of concern at the site. Key chemicals include chlorinated solvents like trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene, volatile organic compounds such as benzene and xylene, metals including mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium, pesticides like hexachlorocyclohexane, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Cleanup began under a 1985 plan that called for installing a protective cap over the landfill, controlling landfill gases, treating contaminated leachate and groundwater, and consolidating contaminated sediment. The plan was updated in November 1999 to use more cost-effective methods while keeping the same level of protection. The groundwater extraction and treatment system was shut down at that point, and a long-term monitoring program replaced it. Physical construction of the cleanup was completed on December 29, 1992. Institutional controls were added to the cleanup approach in 2013. Long-term response actions have been ongoing since December 1994 under EPA oversight.

As of August 19, 2020, the site is sitewide ready for anticipated reuse. That means all cleanup goals for current and expected future land uses have been met, all required land-use controls are in place, and no unacceptable risks to public health remain. EPA assessments confirm that human exposure is under control across the entire site and that contaminated groundwater is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The sixth five-year review was completed on February 22, 2023 and confirmed the cleanup continues to protect public health and the environment. The next review is estimated between February and April 2028. The site has not yet been deleted from the NPL.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Site documents, including 14 key documents and 140 administrative records, are publicly accessible through EPA records.