Background
Cleanup History
EPA and Maryland have been involved in cleanup activities at the site for several years. In the 1980s, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) conducted several emergency cleanup actions that included removing more than 50 of the 55-gallon drums of assorted waste. In the Spring of 2000, EPA conducted an Expanded Site Inspection, with follow-up sampling in February 2001. In 2008, under an EPA consent order, several parties removed contaminated surface soils, containers, gas cylinders, empty drums and batteries from the site. A Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was completed in March 2013. The RI/FS evaluated the extent of contamination and developed alternatives to clean up the Site. EPA selected the final cleanup plan in a Record of Decision issued on September 30, 2013. In November 2017, a consent decree was completed between EPA and more than 40 responsible parties to perform the cleanup work at the Site. EPA conditionally approved the remedial design for the Site on March 8, 2023. Remedial construction began at the Site in May 2023 and is expected to continue through much of 2024.
Site Overview
The 68th Street Site is located in a mixed industrial, commercial, and residential area of Baltimore County crossing the border with Baltimore City in Rosedale, Maryland. The Site consists of an aggregate of seven former landfills that accepted industrial and commercial wastes from the 1950s through 1970s and surrounding streams and wetlands. The Site is transected in the north-south direction Interstate I-95 near the western boundary and in an east-west direction by Moores Run. Site boundaries are generally delineated by the CSX rail lines to the north, Herring Run and the Amtrak and Norfolk Southern rail lines to the south, and Redhouse Run and Herring Run to the east. The Site is unique from an ecological standpoint because of the large area of habitat containing streams, ponds and wetlands in the midst of a highly urbanized setting.
The Site has been broken into five separate Management Areas (MAs) for remediation that include MA-A, MA-B, MA-D, MA-E, and MA-F. The location of each MA is shown in the figure below. MA-A is approximately 11 acres of predominantly wooded area located on the southeastern portion of the Site. MA-B, also referred to as the “Unclaimed Landfill”, consists of approximately 43 acres of landfill located on the southern portion of the Site. MA-D is located on the north-central portion of the Site and contains the approximately 20-acre Horseshoe Landfill. MA-E is approximately 47 acres and contains the original Robb Tyler Landfill and the East and West Colgate Pay Dumps. MA-F, known as the low-land management area, is approximately 118 acres and contains the Redhouse Run Landfill (RRLF), the Island Landfill (ISLF), and wetlands and streams.