Omega Hills North Landfill sits on 83 acres in Germantown, Wisconsin. It accepted hazardous waste, including heavy metals, solvents, and asbestos, from 1977 to 1982, and disposed of more than 15 million gallons of liquid waste each year. Poor operation of the leachate collection system allowed contamination to reach groundwater. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984. The NPL is EPA's list of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country. The landfill stopped accepting all waste in 1989.
The site owner, working under state oversight, installed underground perimeter cutoff walls and a new leachate collection system to keep contamination from spreading into groundwater. A pretreatment plant was built to treat leachate before disposal. The landfill also received a four-foot compacted clay cover and is now fenced and closed. A methane-to-electricity project, begun in 1985, generates power from landfill gas using gas turbine electric generators. EPA deleted the site from the NPL in December 1996 after these cleanup actions were completed. Physical construction of the cleanup is complete across the entire site.
Current EPA assessments show that human exposure is under control and there are no unacceptable exposure pathways at this time. Contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized, and there is no unacceptable discharge to surface water. EPA will continue monitoring to make sure contamination stays within its original area. Residents in the area now use public water supplies rather than groundwater. Zoning restrictions limit land use to activities consistent with the cleanup level achieved, and residential uses are prohibited. The site is not yet considered ready for anticipated future use because not all cleanup goals and required land-use restrictions have been fully established.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources monitors the facility using federal environmental authority and conducts annual reviews. The site has also been known by several other names, including Chemical Waste Management of Wisconsin Germantown Landfill, Waste Management of Wisconsin Lauer Landfill II, and Waste Management of Wisconsin Inc Omega Hill.
Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager.
