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Riverside Sand and Gravel Landfill (Grand Rapids, Kent County)

Riverside Sand and Gravel Landfill (Grand Rapids, Kent 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

Kent Walters,  WaltersK7@Michigan.gov or 616-278-4350.

Waste Disposal Questions

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

Background

Riverside Sand and Gravel (RSG) located at 2780 Butterworth Drive, is a construction and demolition landfill that started in the 1970s. In 1980, a groundwater investigation determined that the landfill impacted groundwater above environmental standards for iron, chloride, sodium, and sulfate. The landfill went into bankruptcy in 1992; however, a significant amount of material was added to the landfill beyond permitted boundaries from 1991-2004, and some drums of material had to be removed from the landfill. In 2006, the landfill site was acquired by two separate owners. The site was sampled for PFAS in December 2021.

Groundwater flows to the south, toward a nearby lake in Millennium Park. Potential impacted waterbodies include a lake located directly south of the landfill, in Millennium Park, and a wetland to the east of the landfill. 

Content posted May 2025.

Site map

See an aerial view of the location of the site.

Expand the map
Riverside Sand and Gravel Landfill Map

Drinking water

There are no residential wells downgrading from the landfill.

Anticipated activities

EGLE is communicating with the site to determine the next appropriate steps.

Historical timeline

    • On June 11, 2021, EGLE requested the landfill owners to assess whether RSG is impacting the environment. 
    • On June 16, 2021, the landfill owners informed EGLE they would not be assessing the landfill for potential PFAS impacts.
    • On December 3-4, 2021, EGLE staff sampled three groundwater monitoring wells, surface water from a lake, and a landfill seep for PFAS.
    • On December 22, 2021, EGLE received sampling results from the December 3-4, 2021, sampling event.  Results indicate that one of three groundwater samples were in exceedance of drinking water criteria monitoring well ATC-TMW-1 had the highest PFOA at 20 ppt and highest PFOS at 33 ppt. 
    • On April 11, 2022, EGLE sampled seven of the largest lakes located within Millennium Park for PFAS.
    • On April 20, 2022, EGLE received PFAS surface water sampling results for seven lakes. None of the lakes exceeded surface water quality values. The highest result was 4.8 ppt for PFOS and 3.4 for PFOA, compared to 12 ppt and 12,000 ppt respectfully.
    • On May 17, 2022 EGLE hosted a community meeting to inform the public of the sampling results from groundwater and surface water.

    Sampling Results Summary

    Type of Sample

    Date Sampled (or Range)

    Numberof Sample Results Received

    Number of Samples above Criteria*

    Groundwater Monitoring Wells

    		 December 2021 3 1
    Surface Water December 2021 - April 2022 9 1

      * Residential well and groundwater monitoring well results are compared to EGLE Part 201 criteria for 7 PFAS compounds effective 12/21/2020:  PFOS (16 ppt), PFOA (8 ppt), PFNA (6 ppt), PFHxS (51 ppt), PFHxA (400,000 ppt), PFBS (420 ppt), and HFPO-DA (370 ppt).

    * Surface water samples are compared to Rule 57 non-drinking water values of 12 ppt for PFOS and 12,000 ppt for PFOA. 

    Sampling Notes

    • The surface water results include a sample from a lake in Millennium Park and a seep sample at the landfill.
    • On April 10, 2023, EGLE sends the landfill owners a letter outlining a path to move the site to closure. However, the owners did not indicate their intentions to address the issues and move the landfill into closure.
    • On June 27, 2024, EGLE sends the landfill owners an enforcement notice outlining violations of Part 115, Solid Waste Management, of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. EGLE requests a meeting with the site to discuss the alleged violations and their resolution through entry of a Consent Order.
    • On August 29, 2024, EGLE meets with the landfill owners to discuss the enforcement notice and to determine a path forward. The landfill owners agree to complete a limited environmental investigation.
    • On September 26 and October 9, 2024, EGLE meets with the landfill owners to discuss and agree upon an appropriate limited environmental investigation. The landfill owners agree to complete an investigation which includes installation of two new groundwater monitoring wells downgradient of the landfill and includes sampling all viable existing monitoring wells for landfill contaminants.
    • On December 20, 2024, EGLE approved the landfills workplan to complete a limited environmental investigation.
    • The week of March 3, 2025, the landfill owners completed the approved workplan with the exception of a few tasks that were not completed due to site conditions.
    • On April 1, 2025, EGLE was provided with the sampling results from the workplan that was completed in March. All seven monitoring wells that were sampling had detections of PFAS, with three wells exceeding the drinking water criteria for PFNA, PFOA, and PFOS and the Groundwater Surface Water Criteria for PFOS. The highest concentration of PFNA, PFOA and PFOS were all detected at new monitoring well FB-MW-07 with concentrations of 9.4 ppt, 120 ppt, and 100 ppt respectively.