On October 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is taking final action to remove all or part of 27 sites from the Superfund National Priority List, including the Strasburg Landfill in Newlin Township, Chester County and Novak Sanitary Landfill in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County.

“EPA is making substantial and meaningful progress cleaning up Superfund Sites,” said EPA Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Delisting these sites from the Superfund list is an important milestone that marks the completion of many years of cleanup work and collaboration across many levels of government and private parties that will allow for future planning for the sites.”

The Strasburg Landfill in Chester County is a 302-acre that accepted industrial waste, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wastes and heavy metal sludge, from 1979 until 1980, when the state required the landfill’s closure.

Waste disposal operations contaminated soil and groundwater. The Site was added to the Superfund program's National Priorities List (NPL) on March 31, 1989. Groundwater monitoring and operation and maintenance of the cap and the leachate collection and treatment system are ongoing.

In 2014, the Natural Lands Trust placed a permanent conservation easement on the property and manage it as a habitat area.

This site is being removed completely from the National Priority List.

The Novak Sanitary Landfill in Lehigh County is a 65-acre privately owned landfill operated from the late 1950s until 1990. The landfill accepted demolition wastes in its abandoned quarry and later accepted municipal and industrial wastes.

Historical disposal practices contaminated groundwater, soil and leachate with hazardous chemicals. The Site was added to the Superfund program's National Priorities List (NPL) on October 4, 1989. Following cleanup, operation and maintenance activities are ongoing.

This site is being partially removed from the National Priority List.

To search for information about these and other NPL sites, visit EPA’s Search For Superfund Sites Where You Live webpage.

Pennsylvania, through the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund is responsible for paying 10 percent of the cleanup and ongoing maintenance of federal Superfund sites. 

This Fund has been inadequately funded since the phase out of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax removed is primary sources of money. 

It should be funded at $40 to $50 million a year, instead, the largest block of funding it has received is $15 million a year through the Act 13 drilling impact fees which were originally meant to fund watershed restoration and other projects.

Visit DEP’s Superfund webpage for more information.

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[Posted: October 30, 2019]

11/4/2019