Metamora Landfill Superfund Site (Metamora, Lapeer County)

Erik Martinson, MartinsonE@Michigan.gov.

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

Metamora Landfill is a capped landfill located at 1811 Dryden Road, about 25 acres in size with no bottom liner. The landfill was closed in 1980 for failure to meet requirements under the Solid Waste Management Act, PA 641 of 1978, as amended. Although licensed to receive only general refuse, large amounts of industrial wastes (e.g., tens of thousands of 55-gallon drums) were also disposed of at the site. Remediation at the site has been handled through two discrete actions called operable units (OUs). OU1, Drummed Waste and Contaminated Soil, addressed the remediation of drummed waste and contaminated soils in two (Drum Area 1 and Drum Area 4) of the five known drum areas on-site. OU2 includes Landfill Capping and Monitored Groundwater Natural Attenuation.

The PFAS workplan was developed and approved by EGLE and EPA in January 2020. The initial PFAS sampling event was completed in early April and included a subset of site monitoring wells located in different aquifers across the site.

Groundwater flow varies in each of the three aquifers present at the Metamora Landfill site. These aquifers are essentially zones of water. Groundwater generally flows to the northeast in the shallow aquifer, to the north with radial flow in portions of the intermediate aquifer, and to the north/northeast/northwest in the bedrock aquifer.

The primary receptor identified the site is residential drinking water. Residential drinking water wells extend down through the soil and pull water in from the bedrock aquifer. While there weren't any PFAS detections during the initial PFAS sampling event, previous site investigations have demonstrated a migration pathway from the shallow aquifer to the underlying bedrock aquifer.

Content posted January 2021.

EGLE is aware of approximately 36 residential wells nearby and is working with the local health department to determine a sampling strategy.

Ongoing discussions are being held to determine further PFAS sampling at monitoring wells and residential well locations.