EPA proposes to remove part of Wauconda Sand & Gravel site in Wauconda, Illinois, from Superfund list
CHICAGO (August 17, 2022) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to delete the soil portion of the Wauconda Sand & Gravel site in Wauconda, Illinois, from the Superfund’s National Priorities List, or NPL. Cleanup continues at the groundwater portion of the site which remains on the NPL.
The former sand and gravel quarry began operations in the 1950’s and operated as two landfills spanning 70 acres. The landfills operated from the 1950s until their closure in 1978. The north landfill 47 acres and predates the landfill permitting process. The south landfill is approximately seven acres and was a state-permitted solid waste landfill. The site was added to the NPL in 1980. The landfills accepted about 3.2 million cubic yards of waste that contained residential garbage, construction debris, some industrial sludges, and drums with undetermined contents. Based on available disposal records, it is estimated more than 99% of the waste was residential waste and less than 1% industrial waste.
In 1978, the landfill was closed and covered with a layer of clay, soil, and vegetation. The site was used for recreational activities including model airplane flying, rifle practice and snowmobiling. However, extensive leachate seeped from the landfill several years after closure. Settlement, erosion, and ponding problems occurred and there were several localized areas where the cap thickness was less than two feet.
The responsible parties, with EPA oversight, conducted the cleanup using additional cover materials, upgrading the leachate collection system, installation of additional gas vents, extending water mains from the Wauconda public water supply to more than 400 citizens in the area, implementation of land and groundwater use restrictions and monitoring of the groundwater and other media.
Operation and maintenance, land and groundwater use restrictions, and groundwater monitoring will continue.
Sites on the NPL include the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of hazardous substances. EPA deletes sites or parts of sites from the NPL when no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment. Years, and sometimes decades, of complex investigation and cleanup work have gone into getting these sites to where they are today.
EPA encourages site reuse and deleting a site from the NPL can help revitalize communities, raise property values, and promote economic growth by signaling to potential developers and financial institutions that cleanup is complete.
At Wauconda Sand & Gravel and all sites where hazardous substances and pollutants or contaminants remain above levels that permit unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA conducts follow-up reviews every five years—even after NPL deletion. These reviews provide an opportunity to evaluate the completed cleanup to ensure people and the environment continue to be protected.
More information about the site can be found on the Wauconda Sand & Gravel website.
Please visit the federal register website to see the notice.
You can view the deletion docket index website for all reports supporting this proposed partial deletion.
The partial deletion report website provides background information about the site and explains how the site meets EPA’s criteria for partial completion and deletion.
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