Springfield leaders to vote on $24M hazardous waste dump clean-up plan

Springfield city commissioners might join other local governments in supporting a reduced cleanup at the Tremont City Barrel Fill, a closed hazardous waste dump in northern Clark County.

A resolution acquiescing — reluctantly supporting without protest — the implementation of a $24 million plan as a remedy for the 1.5 million gallons of industrial waste at the Tremont City Barrel Fill will be heard as a first reading at today’s meeting. Commissioners likely will vote on the resolution on July 5.

RELATED:Clark County backs reduced clean-up plan for industrial waste dump

Earlier this month Clark County commissioners pledged their support for the reduced cleanup at the at the barrel fill, 3108 Snyder Domer Road, becoming the first government agency to back the plan that would leave some of the hazardous waste buried on site.

Local leaders and activists were told earlier this year to accept the modified cleanup of the hazardous waste dump they’ve long feared could seep into Springfield’s drinking water supply or risk nothing happening at the site for years.

The community has fought for decades to get a thorough cleanup at the closed Tremont City Barrel Fill site in northern Clark County. The barrels were buried at the 8.5-acre section of a closed landfill between 1976 and 1978.

Community members and local leaders have pushed the U.S. EPA to remove all hazardous waste from the site. The U.S. EPA was expected to move forward with a $56 million plan to remove all hazardous waste from the site.

However in 2011 the federal agency decided to pursue a $28 million plan that calls for barrels containing liquids to be removed and ones with solid waste to be dug up and then reburied on-site in a lined landfill.

MORE: Clark County must decide soon on reduced cleanup for hazardous waste dump

Since then, a modified version of that cheaper plan was introduced and estimated to cost about $24 million. It also includes a double liner, leak detection system and possibly removing some of the barrels that include the worst chemicals.

It’s time for the community to take action and the only action available is to agree to the plan dubbed modified 9a with extra protections, City Commissioner Karen Duncan said.

“There’s a possibility we will get even less if we don’t do this,” Duncan said. “There are a lot of other problems we have to consider if we don’t move forward with the U.S. EPA plan. They’ve told us unequivocally that it’s take it or leave it with the modified 9a and I believe that. I have no reason to think they’re going to move off of their position and no reason to think that things will improve if we wait.”

Duncan won’t be at today’s meeting, she said, but will be back for the vote next month.

“It’s been 35 years, since the early 1980s,” she said. “I believe it’s time to move forward and get something resolved for the community to protect our sole source aquifer.”

RELATED: Tremont City barrel fill: What’s really going on?

Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland and City Commissioner Joyce Chilton both told the Springfield News-Sun they plan to support the legislation based on what the U.S. EPA has said in recent meetings.

“It’s about the best deal we can make,” Copeland said.

City Commissioner Kevin O’Neill couldn’t be reached for comment, but told the News-Sun earlier this month he believes the community should continue to fight for the more extensive remediation. He hopes to raise money to remove all of the hazardous waste, which officials say could cost another $13 million to $15 million. The price tag will be insignificant if the city’s well fields became contaminated, he said.

City Commissioner Dan Martin couldn’t be reached for comment.

German Twp. trustees haven’t made a decision about whether to support the EPA’s proposal, Trustee Bob Clark said, and it’s unclear when trustees will take up the matter.

“We need to see what the timeline is before we make a decision,” he said.

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By the Numbers

1.5 million: Gallons of hazardous waste stored in barrels buried underground at the Tremont City Barrel Fill, an 8.5-acre site in northern Clark County.

$56 million: Cost of clean-up plan Alternative 4a, which would remove all hazardous waste from the site.

$24 million: Cost of clean-up modified plan Alternative 9a, the U.S. EPA's selected plan that includes digging up barrels, extracting the liquid waste and reburying the solid waste on site in a double-lined landfill.

Staying with the story

The Springfield News-Sun has written extensively about the proposed cleanup plan for the Tremont City Barrel Fill since it was first introduced in 2011, including stories digging into the costs and why local activists want all the hazardous waste removed.

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