DEQ Amends Record of Decision for Bitterroot Valley Sanitary Landfill State Superfund Facility in Ravalli County
HELENA— Today the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued an amendment to the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Bitterroot Valley Sanitary Landfill State Superfund Facility. The ROD is the document that details DEQ’s final cleanup decision for the Facility and the amendment address conditions that have improved at the Facility since the ROD was originally issued in 2002. The Facility is located approximately one mile south of Victor, Montana in Ravalli County.
DEQ oversees cleanup of contaminants at the Bitterroot Valley Sanitary Landfill under what is known as the State Superfund program. The Facility stopped accepting hazardous waste in 1985 when a contaminated groundwater plume beneath and near the Facility was found.
Groundwater now meets cleanup levels in most of the former plume area and the plume has reduced in size. Therefore, the ROD amendment removes the requirement to construct a community water supply system. Additionally, DEQ will request that the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) reduce the size of the controlled groundwater area in place at the Facility due to the improved conditions. Once the controlled groundwater area is modified, residents may return to using domestic water from wells in the shallow aquifers. The modified controlled groundwater area will continue to cover areas where groundwater exceeds standards.
The ROD amendment also makes changes to site specific cleanup levels for contaminants of concern at the Facility. The amended ROD raises the cleanup levels for chloroform, the only contaminant of concern with current exceedances in groundwater at the site, to 70 micrograms per liter to reflect current state standards. Further, the ROD amendment establishes new cleanup levels for chloroform related to exposure through vapor intrusion, which may occur if contaminants move from groundwater and soil into indoor air. DEQ is maintaining existing institutional controls in the form of restrictive covenants that prohibit certain activities on the former landfill property to mitigate any potential risk posed by vapor intrusion or groundwater contamination. The updates to the ROD comply with federal and state environmental requirements, criteria, and limitations and will ensure a cleanup that is protective of public health, safety, welfare and the environment.
A public comment period and a public meeting for the proposed ROD amendment were held in 2018 and responses to all comments received during the public comment period are included in the ROD amendment. For information on accessing the amended ROD and other site documents visit: https://deq.mt.gov/News/publicnotices-folder/news-article151
Tags: Cleanup and Press Release