Lee Acres Landfill covers 60 acres near Farmington, New Mexico. It operated as a county waste disposal site from 1962 onward, accepting solid waste, waste oil, spent acids, chlorinated organic solvents, and septic tank wastes in trenches and unlined lagoons. A 1985 dike failure released wastes into a nearby arroyo, and toxic vapors from the lagoons caused about 15 people, including workers, to suffer breathing trouble, severe headaches, and skin rashes. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1990, making it eligible for federal Superfund cleanup.
Seven contaminants have been identified in groundwater: chloroethene (vinyl chloride), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, trans-1,2-dichloroethene, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, manganese, and nickel. EPA determined that exposure to these substances poses unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.
The cleanup remedy, selected in 2004, includes an engineered cap over the landfill, institutional controls, monitored natural attenuation, and drainage and erosion controls. Construction of the landfill cover finished in August 2005. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues regular monitoring. Manganese is the only contaminant currently failing to meet EPA levels, and the long-term plan relies on natural attenuation to reduce it. Groundwater migration is stabilized, with no unacceptable discharge to surface water, though insufficient data currently exists to confirm that all unacceptable human exposure pathways have been eliminated. Zoning restrictions prevent residential development and protect the integrity of the landfill cover and monitoring systems.
EPA completed its most recent five-year review on October 22, 2024. That review found cleanup actions remain protective of human health and the environment in the short term, with no known exposure to contaminated soil or groundwater. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.
Community members can share concerns with the BLM Farmington District Office by mail at 6251 College Blvd A, Farmington, NM 87402. Site records are available through EPA's Superfund database, the Farmington Public Library, and the BLM Farmington office. For questions, contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator.
