Obee Road

Overview

The Obee Road site sits in Hutchinson, Kansas and covers two areas: a former municipal landfill that accepted waste from 1953 to 1968, and the Airport Road Subsite tied to former Cessna Aircraft and Farmland Industries operations. The site was added to the National Priorities List in July 1987. Physical construction of cleanup activities finished in September 2011, and the site reached ready status for anticipated reuse in April 2012. Long-term response actions at the Airport Road Subsite are expected to continue through late 2027 or early 2028.

Contaminants include chloroethene (vinyl chloride) and dichloromethane (methylene chloride) in groundwater at the landfill area, and tetrachloroethene in soil there as well. The Airport Road Subsite contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), and related breakdown products in groundwater, along with chlorinated methanes and ethylbenzene. The primary health concern at the Airport Road Subsite is exposure to contaminated groundwater through ingestion and dermal contact. At the Landfill Subsite, a soil cover, security fencing, and deed restrictions limit direct contact with contaminants. EPA has determined that human exposure is under control across the entire site, with no currently unacceptable exposure pathways.

Cleanup at the Landfill Subsite relies on groundwater monitoring, access controls, and deed restrictions that prohibit excavation and groundwater use. At the Airport Road Subsite, workers extract and treat contaminated groundwater using air stripping and reverse osmosis, then dispose of treated water to Class I underground injection wells. That extraction system now supplies about 22 percent of Hutchinson's drinking water. The city also connected affected residents to the public water supply. Elevated soil gas levels for TCE beneath some industrial buildings remain an ongoing concern, and arsenic data at the landfill is still being gathered to determine the source of contamination.

One active issue involves the Class I wells used to dispose of treated remediation water. Increased earthquake activity in south-central Kansas appears linked to wastewater disposal into the Arbuckle Formation through such wells. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has been discussing with Hutchinson the possibility of reducing wastewater volumes going into these wells. As of July 2023, the city continues to evaluate its options for managing remediation water from Obee Road. This is a voluntary evaluation. The fifth Five-Year Review, completed in December 2020, confirmed that cleanup actions remain protective of human health and the environment. Six businesses now operate at the site, employing 49 people.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. Additional EPA and state specialists are also available for technical, legal, and health-related questions.