Plans for Old Amenia Landfill near completion

AMENIA — The town of Amenia held a special meeting on Thursday, May 19, about the remedial design for the Old Amenia Landfill (OAL), located along Route 22 across from the MetroNorth Wassaic station.The presentation on the design plan was given by engineer Elizabeth Rovers of C.T. Male Associates, the remediation consultation company hired by the town for this project.The 8.4-acre OAL, which operated for 40 years until 1976, underwent a Remedial Investigation Feasibility Study from 2001-05 to determine the extent of and type of hazardous waste contamination.Pre-design investigations using survey test pits revealed that some waste and contamination reaches outside the landfill’s boundaries to the north and west.These tests also revealed that most of the contamination in the landfill is due to PCBs. High levels of nickel and zinc found in the surrounding areas were shown to have come from a different source.The Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976 says that any soil with a PCB concentration of more than 50 parts per million (ppm) must be disposed of according to strict regulations.The concentration of PCBs in the OAL was found to be as high as 5,000 ppm in some spots. Therefore, 450 cubic yards of soil and sediment will be excavated and removed. Once the contaminated soil is removed, the landfill will be properly covered with impermeable material and permanently closed.Once the remediation construction is complete, the land will be replanted and turned into a recreation area with walking paths.Roughly three-quarters of the engineering and construction costs will be paid for through grants from the state. The remaining 25 percent will be funded by the Environmental Facilities Company.Once all documents about the project are finalized and submitted to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), a project manual will be created and companies will be invited to bid on the project.The town hopes to award the project in September and begin initial construction late this year. If the project remains on schedule, it will likely be completed next fall.Due to the strict rules the project must follow, the town expects there will be no ground water contamination.The remediation design also takes into account the area’s reputation for scenic beauty, so instead of installing a large number of gas vents in the landfill, there will be a web of lateral pipes underground that are connected to only two vents above ground.The design planTo prepare the property for construction, fencing will be installed, the entrance will be stabilized for heavy truck traffic and an additional piece of access road will be built across the property.Dual sediment barriers will be installed in the pond on the west side of the property to secure the contaminated sediment and protect the water systems.Water control monitoring will be conducted throughout the project to ensure that the contamination is not spread.Temporary swales — marshy areas that control water runoff — will be built to control water flowing off the nearby hills and to divert it away from the construction site.The land will also be regraded to put the waste from outside the landfill’s borders back inside and to stay within the 4 to 33 percent slope required for the landfill’s cap.Once the land is regraded, it will be ready to receive the layers of soil and impermeable textiles that will prevent water from seeping into the landfill.The land will be seeded and replanted to restore the environment.Only an estimated 0.05 acres of wetland will be lost due to this project.To read more detailed reports on the landfill and the remediation plan, contact the Amenia Town Hall at 845-373-8860 to schedule a time to look at the documents.