bush valley landfill

BUSH RD POB 246

The Bush Valley Landfill Site is located in Harford County, Maryland, one mile from the town of Abingdon. The site is located on a 29-acre parcel of land, approximately 16 of which are occupied by the actual landfill. The Bush Declaration Natural Resources Management Area, a 120-acre tidal cattail marsh, borders the site to the north and east. Harford Town, a planned community, lies west of the Site across Bush Road. Three single-family homes are located within 300 feet of the landfill's southern border. Before 1974, the land was used for cattle grazing and raising crops. In 1974, a trash hauler leased the property and in 1975 the hauler contracted to provide landfill services for Harford County. That same year, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) granted a permit to use the land as a municipal solid waste landfill. The landfill took in household and industrial wastes and may have also accepted industrial wastes. After ignoring DHMH's orders to stop site operations, the operator abandoned the site in 1983 when the landfill reached capacity. The state of Maryland did inspections in 1983. In 1984, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspected the site and in 1988 the site was proposed as an addition to the National Priorities List. Sites on this list can be cleaned up using federal Superfund money if no other source of funding is available. In June 1990 Harford County started negotiations with EPA, resulting in an agreement that the County do the site studies. These studies took place from 1991 to 1995, when a final report was approved. In 1995 EPA issued a proposed plan, outlining cleanup options and recommending a course of action. The final decision on how the site would be addressed was made later that year.