Lemberger Transport & Recycling

Overview

Lemberger Transport & Recycling is a former industrial waste disposal facility in Franklin Township, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. It operated from 1970 to 1976, accepting wood tar distillates, aluminum dust, and oil-water mixtures deposited in unlined trenches. The site was added to the National Priorities List in 1984. Source text describes the site as both 16 acres and 40 acres in different sections, so the exact acreage is presented as stated in each source rather than resolved here.

EPA identified 36 contaminants of concern, all found in groundwater. These include chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and carbon tetrachloride, as well as pesticides like aldrin, dieldrin, and DDT. Polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals including arsenic, lead, and mercury, and volatile organic compounds such as benzene and toluene are also on the list. EPA determined all of these pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.

Cleanup was divided into three operable units covering sitewide work, groundwater treatment, and source control. From 1991 through 1996, responsible parties completed major actions under EPA oversight. These included installing groundwater extraction wells and a treatment system, excavating buried drums, removing contaminated soil through vapor extraction, and capping the site with an approved hazardous waste landfill cover. Restrictive covenants filed in 2009 and 2010 limit groundwater use and soil disturbance on the property.

In January 2021, EPA amended the cleanup plan for both operable units. The groundwater remedy shifted from a pump-and-treat system, which had operated for 11 years but was no longer cost-effective, to monitored natural attenuation. The amendment also adjusted cleanup standards for some contaminants and added institutional controls to prevent future risk from waste materials remaining on-site. The site achieved sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status in 2015. EPA has determined that human exposure is under control and that contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to the nearby Branch River. The most recent five-year review was completed on July 1, 2025.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager directly. Five-year reviews, Records of Decision, and other site documents are available through EPA's Superfund records system, which holds over 300 documents for this site.