BergerWorld: 2nd Quarter 2006

Since the 1940s, the 65-acre Combe Fill South Landfill, in Chester and Washington Townships, accepted household and industrial wastes, dead animals, sewage sludge, septic tank wastes, chemicals and waste oils. Following the cessation of operations in 1981, the EPA added the site to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. Remedial investigations conducted by NJDEP found that contamination of groundwater from the landfill had occurred in nearby residential wells, and EPA issued a Record of Decision in 1986 that included the provision of an alternate water supply for affected residences, capping the landfill, collecting gases, pumping and treating groundwater and leachate, controlling surface water runoff, fencing and monitoring the site, and evaluating the need to remediate the aquifer. Berger was chosen by the NJDEP under its statewide Landfill Closure Program to provide maintenance for the Combe Fill and investigate impacts on local aquifers. Berger experts inspected the existing passive gas collection systems; relocated waste to minimize off-site gas migration; assessed the contamination level of aquifers, surface water, sediments and private potable wells; and conducted a study to determine the best method to upgrade the gas venting system. Since groundwater monitoring showed impact to only a limited number of private wells, a Point-of-Entry-Treatment water filtration system was selected as the most cost-effective and least environmentally disruptive alternative to a public water line. Now completed, the landfill cap and groundwater treatment system are in successful operation.