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West KL Avenue Landfill (Oshtemo Township, Kalamazoo County)

West KL Avenue Landfill (Oshtemo Township, Kalamazoo County)

Disclaimer: Web content may not be routinely updated on this page.

Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.

EGLE site lead

Wally Wagaw, WagawW@Michigan.gov or 517-648-1540.

Waste Disposal Questions

Please note that this landfill is CLOSED and does not accept waste. 

Background

The West KL Avenue Landfill is a closed sanitary landfill located on 87 acres at 8606 West KL Avenue.

The site served as a local garbage dump for the township from the 1960s until 1968 when it became the county sanitary landfill. The landfill closed in 1979 after contaminants appeared in residential wells. Waste disposal operations contaminated soil and groundwater with hazardous chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been overseeing this site since placing it on the National Priorities List in September 1983. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) requested West KL PRP Group sample groundwater for PFAS due to the potential of groundwater contamination from the site.

Groundwater flows to the west and northwest of the landfill. Three surface water bodies, Dustin Lake, Springwood Lake, and Bonnie Castle are located nearby. It is currently unknown if these surface water bodies have been impacted with PFAS chemicals.

Content posted December 2020.

West KL Avenue Landfill PFAS Groundwater Sampling

Site map

See an aerial view of the location of the site.

Expand the map

Drinking water

Nearby residents are connected to municipal water.

Anticipated activities

EGLE is working with US EPA on appropriate next steps.

Historical timeline

    • On October 28-29, 2019, Golder Associates Inc., contracted by West KL PRP Group, collected groundwater samples from six monitoring wells.  Four samples were collected from wells east of 4th street adjacent to and near the landfill, and two samples were collected from wells west of 4th street in the downgradient plume area.
    • On January 27, 2020, EGLE received the sample results from the October 2019 sampling event.  The highest PFOS + PFOA groundwater sample result was 153 ppt.
    • On February 19, 2020, EGLE received a Supplemental PFAS Sampling Plan from Golder Associates Inc.  The plan identifies ten additional sampling locations as a “step out” from the wells sampled in October 2019. These proposed locations have been selected to further delineate PFAS concentrations downgradient of the landfill.
    • On March 9, 2020, EGLE submitted comments to EPA on the Supplemental PFAS Sampling Plan.
    • On April 20 and April 21, 2020, Golder Associates Inc., collected the second round of PFAS groundwater sampling from 10 monitoring wells.  Trace levels of PFAS compounds were detected in each sample. The Part 201 criterion of 70 ppt (PFOS and PFOA combined) was exceeded (at three locations: P-28, P-30 and P-31 with combined PFOS and PFOA concentrations of 90 ppt, 132 ppt and 117 ppt (primarily PFOA), respectively.  Additional sampling proposed by the West KL PRP Group at 13 locations (17 monitoring wells) is anticipated to occur in July 2020 pending USEPA approval.

    Type of Sample

    Date Sampled

    # of Samples

    # of Results Received

    # of Non-detects

    # Between Non-detect and standard*

    #>Standard

    Groundwater

    		 October 2019 6 6 0 5 1

    Cumulative

    		 6 6 0 5 1

    *Groundwater results are compared to EGLE Part 201 Criteria of 70 ppt PFOS+PFOA.

    • On July 20, 2020 and July 21, 2020 samples from 19 monitoring wells (located west of the KL Avenue Landfill and east of 22nd street) were collected by Golder Associates and American Hydrogeology Corp. personnel.
    • In September 2020, EGLE received the Data Summary Report from the July 2020 sampling event. Trace levels of various PFAS compounds were reported in each sample with the exception of samples collected from monitoring wells MW-15, P-33 and P-38, which were non-detect for all PFAS compounds. PFOA concentrations were detected slightly above criteria in four monitoring wells: P-35, P-56, P-61 and P-63 with concentrations of 11 ppt, 11 ppt, 18 ppt and 11 ppt, respectively.

    Sampling: PFOS and PFOA Only

    Type of Sample

    Date Sampled

    (or Range)

    Number of Samples Results Received

    Number of Samples above PFOS Criteria

    Number of Samples above PFOA Criteria

    Groundwater

    		 July 2020 19 0 4

    Cumulative

    		 19 0 4

    * Groundwater results are compared to EGLE Part 201 Drinking Water Criteria of PFOS 16 ppt and PFOA 8 ppt.

    Sampling Notes

    • On August 3, 2020, new Part 201 Criteria went into effect.  Historical sampling data compared to Part 201 Criteria >70 is captured in the historical timeline below.