EPA begins reviews of six Vermont Superfund site cleanups this year
Boston – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to conduct comprehensive reviews of site cleanups at six National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites in Vermont by performing required Five-Year Reviews of sites.
"It is a priority for EPA to make progress cleaning up NPL Superfund sites across the region," said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deb Szaro. "Once a site or part of a site is cleaned up, it is important for EPA to conduct regular reviews of the cleanup to ensure that it remains protective of human health and the environment."
"The Five-Year Reviews are an important part of the site rehabilitation process because they help make sure remedies are still protective," said Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Emily Boedecker. "Vermonters benefit greatly from the full restoration of Superfund sites, which can become valuable parts of the community landscape."
The Superfund program, a federal program established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and endeavors to facilitate activities to return them to productive use.
Under the Trump Administration, the Superfund program has reemerged as a priority to fulfill EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.
EPA is actively involved in Superfund studies and cleanups at 14 sites in Vermont. There are many phases of the Superfund cleanup process including considering future use and redevelopment at sites and conducting post-cleanup monitoring of sites. EPA must ensure remedies are protective of public health and the environment and any redevelopment will not compromise the protectiveness of completed remedies.
The NPL Superfund site where EPA will begin work on Five-Year Reviews in 2019 are listed below. Please note, the web links listed below provide detailed information on site status and past assessment and cleanup activity. Once the Five-Year Review is complete, a report of its findings will be posted to these websites. The web link also provides contact information for the EPA project manager and community involvement coordinator at each site. Community members and local officials are invited to contact EPA with any comments or concerns about a Superfund site.
Five-Year Reviews beginning in 2019
Bennington Municipal Sanitary Landfill, Bennington, V.T.
www.epa.gov/superfund/bennington
BFI Sanitary Landfill, Rockingham, V.T.
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/bfi
Elizabeth Mine, Strafford, V.T.
www.epa.gov/superfund/elizmine
Parker Sanitary Landfill, Lyndon, V.T.
www.epa.gov/superfund/parker
Pownal Tannery, Pownal, V.T.
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/pownal
Tansitor Electronics Inc., Bennington, V.T.
www.epa.gov/superfund/tansitor
