EPA “proposing to add” closed Cayuga County landfill to Superfund National Priorities List

VICTORY, N.Y. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday said it is “proposing to add” the Brillo Landfill in the Cayuga County town of Victory to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

The federal NPL includes sites where releases of contamination pose “significant” human health and environmental risks, the EPA said in its news release. Brillo Landfill is among five sites that the EPA is proposing to add to the federal NPL, along with 12 sites that the EPA intends to add.

U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus) said he’s “pleased to see” the EPA considering adding this site.

“This move would provide federal funding to address legacy pollution in Cayuga County and was made possible by investments from the bipartisan infrastructure law, which I strongly supported,” Katko said. “This cleanup effort would provide a long-term solution for our community and I’m glad to see the bipartisan infrastructure law making a positive impact in Cayuga County.”

Now closed, the Brillo Landfill accepted a variety of industrial and sanitary wastes, as well as paint and wastewater-treatment sludge. As a result, it is currently contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals such as lead and mercury in numerous waste disposal units and surrounding soil.

Further investigations by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in 2021 found similar contamination and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the nearby wetlands, which border Little Sodus Creek, the EPA said.

New York State “welcomes” the EPA’s proposed addition of the Brillo Landfill site and finalization of the Meeker Avenue plume site to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List, NYSDEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said.

“Working collaboratively with DEC, our federal partners will deploy the best available science and resources to protect the Greenpoint and East Williamsburg communities by addressing the soil, soil vapor, and groundwater plume in the vicinity of Meeker Avenue, and continue the critical work of preventing potential exposure to the public,” Seggos said. “DEC remains committed to partnering with the Biden Administration and EPA Administrator Regan to advance the cleanup of former industrial sites in Brooklyn, the town of Victory, and statewide to protect public health and the environment.”

“No community deserves to have contaminated sites near where they live, work, play, and go to school. Nearly 2 out of 3 of the sites being proposed or added to the priorities list are in overburdened or underserved communities,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. “EPA is building a better America by taking action to clean up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites, protect communities’ health, and return contaminated land to safe and productive reuse for future generations.”