EPA removes part of Lake Sandy Jo (M&M Landfill) site in Gary, Indiana from Superfund list
CHICAGO (May 19, 2020) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the landfill portion of the Lake Sandy Jo site and most of the surrounding property (formerly the M&M Landfill) in Gary, Indiana, has been deleted from Superfund’s National Priorities List. EPA determined that the required soil cleanup has been completed in that area although monitoring and maintenance will continue there. The groundwater portion of the site and a few adjacent properties will remain on the NPL.
The 50-acre Lake Sandy Jo Superfund site is located at 3615 West 25th Avenue. Between 1971 and 1980, native materials were excavated for construction projects leaving a water-filled borrow pit on-site that was eventually used as a landfill. Demolition debris, garbage, industrial waste and drums are thought to be buried there. The cleanup involved installing a clean soil cover and fencing. Service lines were also extended to connect nearby homes to the public drinking water system. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, with EPA oversight, currently provides long-term stewardship at the site by securing institutional controls, monitoring groundwater and maintaining the fence and soil cover.
Superfund law requires reviews every five years after cleanups to ensure the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. The fifth five-year review in 2016 included an evaluation of the cleanup requirements and the effectiveness of the cleanup, maintenance and monitoring efforts. The latest five-year review is currently underway and will be completed in July. A proposed or final deletion does not prevent future actions under the Superfund law or affect required operations and maintenance at the site.
The NPL tracks the nation’s most contaminated sites that threaten human health or the environment. Sites on the list are eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program and once all the remedies are successfully implemented, EPA removes sites or parts of sites from the list.
For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/lake-sandyjo-landfill.
EPA held a 30-day public comment period on the proposed deletion. For a summary of EPA’s responses to public comments for the Lake Sandy Jo site: https://semspub.epa.gov/work/05/965431.pdf.
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