Public Notice: Wauconda Sand & Gravel Landfill Superfund Site Seventh Five-Year Review in Progress
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is conducting its seventh five-year review of the Wauconda Sand & Gravel Landfill Superfund site. The site is about 60-acres consisting of two landfills located in the Village of Wauconda in Lake County, Illinois. Superfund law requires regular checkups of sites that have been cleaned up—with waste managed onsite—to ensure the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment.
From around 1955 until 1978, a municipal waste landfill operated onsite that was closed and covered with a layer of clay, soil, and vegetation. Sampling later found that groundwater was contaminated with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and pesticides.
EPA’s cleanup of the site consisted of the following:
- Constructing a permanent municipal water system for affected properties.
- Installing a system to collect and monitor contaminated leachate.
- Upgrading the landfill cap and well network to monitor groundwater.
- Installing a fence around the site.
- Establishing legal restrictions on site use, known as institutional controls.
The five-year review process includes the following:
- Evaluation of background information.
- Summary of cleanup requirements.
- Report on the effectiveness of the cleanup and any potential future actions.
- Analysis of ways for EPA to operate more efficiently.
- The review, with details about the cleanup progress, will be available by December 2026.
More information can be accessed using the computers at the Wauconda Area Public Library, 801 N Main St, Wauconda, IL 60084, and at EPA webpage.