Lipari Landfill

The Lipari Landfill, located in Mantua Township and bordering the municipalities of Pitman, Glassboro and Harrison Township, is a former sand and gravel quarry used as a 15-acre landfill and toxic chemical repository from 1958 to 1971. It accepted an undetermined amount of household wastes, chemical wastes, and industrial materials, an estimated three million gallons of liquid wastes, and 12,000 cubic yards of solid wastes. The landfill was closed by the State of New Jersey in 1971 after neighbors complained about respiratory problems, nausea, dying vegetation, and odors emanating from the dump site. In 1982, due to its potential impact on more than 11,000 Gloucester County residents, the Lipari Landfill was recommended for National Priority Listing (Superfund listing).

In 1982, EPA began its first phase of remediation, aimed at containing the contaminants on-site by inserting a 30-foot clay wall around the area and capping the landfill with a synthetic membrane cover. In 1985, the EPA released its plan for an on-site remediation program targeting the leachate and groundwater contamination. Those clean-up efforts ran from 1992 to 1993.

In 1988, EPA designed an off-site remediation program that would alleviate some of the serious effects on private property, surface and groundwater sources, and the four communities. A final step in the cleanup process was the installation of a monitoring system in 1995. The Philadelphia-based chemical company Rohm & Haas was legally found to be the primary polluter and thus responsible for cleanup costs. At the time of disposal, Rohm & Hass probably paid 75 cents for each barrel of chemical waste. The cost of removal of each barrel of contaminants has been estimated at about $2,000. Rohm & Haas paid more than $52 million of the $100 million remediation project. Other companies were also found liable and helped pay for the cleanup.

Although the Lipari Landfill is still being monitored, part of the site has been successfully remediated and is now a public sports field complex, with soccer, baseball, and other athletic fields. The recreational project is considered a major success in brownfield redevelopment. In addition, Alcyon Lake and Chestnut Branch marsh have been restored and the lake has been reopened.

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