army creek landfill

RTE 13 + RTE 40

The Army Creek Landfill, located in New Castle County, Delaware, is an abandoned sand and gravel quarry that was operated by New Castle County ("County") from 1960 through 1968 for the disposal of 1.9 million cubic yards of municipal and industrial waste. The site is bordered to the south and east by Army Creek, which discharges into the Delaware River one mile to the east. Another National Priorities List ("NPL") site, the Delaware Sand & Gravel Landfill, is located immediately across Army Creek to the east of the site. The Artesian Water Company (“Artesian”) maintains a public drinking water supply well field one-half mile downgradient of the site, serving approximately 5,000 residential customers. In 1971, groundwater contamination was discovered in a residential well located in the adjacent Llangollen Estates housing development. Subsequent investigation of the underlying Upper Potomac aquifer identified a plume of organic (e.g., benzene, bis(2-chloroethyl)ether ("BCEE"), 1, 2-dichloroethane and methylene chloride) and inorganic (iron and manganese) chemicals migrating from the landfills.