Gloucester Environmental Management Services Landfill - Essay Example

The site information for the GEMS landfill is summarized in the following table:

EPA ID:

NJD980529192

Address:

ERIAL & HICKSTOWN RDS
GLOUCESTER TWP, NJ 08012

Other names:

Amadei landfill

GEMS LANDFILL

GEMS/AMADEI

GLOUCESTER ENVIRON MGT SERVICES LF

GLOUCESTER ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SERV

Site ownership:

Municipality

Date of Final Listing on the NPL:

September 08, 1983

The area surrounding the landfill is principally reserved for industrial purposes but still is mostly occupied by residents.

Background

Since the 1950s up to the present, the GEMS is owned by the Gloucester Township; and during their tenure, several parties were involved in operating the landfill as a disposal site for solids and liquids, and other hazardous substances. The early operators were Anthony Amadei Sand and Gravel Company, which remained in power to operate until 1976 when Gloucester Environmental Management Services, Inc. took over until its closure in 1980.

The area of landfill started with a very small area; in 1963 it occupied simply 11.4 acres of land; in only two years it was spread over 16 acres. In 1970 and finally, in 1974, it covered 39.5 acres and 61.7 acres respectively. It was discovered by Solid Waste Administration (SWA) that during this later period of its functioning many chemicals were dumped. The report also indicated deficiencies in sanitary landfill operating procedures, improperly covered areas, and a lack of control in preventing windblown paper. It all affected the Holly Run.

Another survey conducted by SWA in the year 1977 showed that the GEMS landfill did not meet the approved design specifications. The dispute broke between the two parties and later administrative order to end the operations was passed on September 1, 1977; it remained operative until November 1980.

Geological and Hydrogeological condition of the GEMS Landfill

The coastal plain where the landfill is located is underlain by Pleistocene, tertiary, and cretaceous age sediments. The geological formations include the Bridgeton formation, the Cohansey formation, the Kirkwood formation, the Manasquan, the Naveskine, the Mount Laurel, and the Wenonah formation.  

Sources of contamination

Organic solvents and several other industrial wastes and outputs have contaminated the surrounding area, groundwater, surface water, and air. Arsenic, barium, and lead are the major elements found and pesticides include DDE, DDD, and DDT. It is shameful to see that these water sources were the drinking wells for the neighborhood (NUS Corporation, 1986).  
 
Potentially responsible parties

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in its efforts to take remedial action against the GEMS landfill, identified parties (companies) that were responsible for the degradation and exploitation of the landfill which led to hazards for the community and the landfill itself. The names of the parties are as under:

• Gloucester Environmental Management Services, Inc.
• Owens/Cornings Fiberglas, Inc.
• E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company
• Rohm and Haas Company
• The City of Philadelphia,

• Gloucester Township
• Richard Winn
• David Ehrlich
• Anthony Amadei
• Geppert Brothers, Inc. and
• Curtis T. Bedwell and Sons, Inc.

EPA invited these individual parties to volunteer their efforts in the evaluation, design, clean up, and redevelopment of the landfill area, in September of 1985, but none of the parties responded to the call.

Remedial actions in September 1985/Clean up

 A record of decision contained remedial actions for constructing the landfill cap, an active gas collection and treatment system, construction of groundwater extraction and pretreatment system, clearance in the Briar Lake and the Holly River, implementation of surface water controls, making security fence all around, operation, maintenance and monitoring of the landfill area all the time (US EPA, 1999).

The implementation of the remedial plan occurred in two stages. The first phase made its onset in June 1989. The main parties to the implementation of this remedial action were the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the GEMS Trust. This phase finally ended in August 1994, with EPA giving written consent for its implemented action.

Whereas the second stage of the remedial action began in July 1998, and all the potentially responsible parties participated in resolving the issues of contaminated groundwater and leachate (US EPA, 2005).

Post Implementation plan reviews

In May of 2004, the GEMS landfill site was inspected for the examination of the cap, water treatment plant, and the surrounding area that has direct interaction with the landfill. Not many problems were detected in the review regarding the cap and the gas collection system. Some areas although showed erosion.

Conclusion & Recommendation