Section Three
LANDFILLS-A. GENERAL
15    PREPARING A REMEDIAL DESIGN FOR CLEANUP OF THE
NEW LYME SUPERFUND SITE
David W. R. Shultz, Project Manager
Donohue Engineers and Architects
Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53083
Robert J. Curnyn, Project Manager
U.S. Army Engineer District
Omaha Omaha, Nebraska 68102
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the remedial design process for the New Lyme Superfund
Site located in Ashtabula County, Ohio, approximately 20 miles east of Cleveland. This site is being
cleaned up by the authority of the CERCLA (Superfund), under the provisions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rules and regulations for this program. The 100 acre site contains a
40 acre landfill where industrial and municipal wastes were landfilled during the late 60's and early
70's. In 1978, the landfill was closed by the Ashtabula County Health Department.
The Remedial Investigation (Rl) was conducted from August, 1983 to August, 1984, which identified onsite groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment contamination from various organic and
inorganic compounds. The study suggested that the groundwater flow carries water up through the
landfill, creating seeps around the perimeter of the existing fill area, discharging up to 40,000 gallons
per day of contaminated leachate into the surrounding receiving streams.
The Feasibility Study (FS) performed in 1985 developed several alternatives for cleanup. The
Record Of Decision was signed in September, 1985, specifying a cleanup remedy that included:
Installation of a RCRA cap over the landfill, with gas control.
Installation of a groundwater extraction well system to dewater the landfill.
Onsite treatment of contaminated groundwater and leachate.
In March, 1986, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CE), acting under authority of an interagency
agreement with EPA, retained Donohue Engineers and Architects to perform a predesign study to
support the remedial design. The predesign included a leachate treatability study and additional field
investigation activities. Following completion of the predesign, the CE retained Donohue to perform
the remedial design effort, which was initiated by Donohue in March, 1987. The design scope
included preparation of design drawings, specifications, a cost estimate, design analysis for the
selected remedy, and various other supporting documents.
The RCRA cap incorporates a synthetic drainage layer and gas control system. The extraction well
field includes 13 wells up to 90 feet deep, pumping an estimated 90 gallons per minute, and 21
monitoring well nests to monitor water quality and extraction well performance. The treatment plant
unit operations include flow equalization, pH adjustment, and biological treatment with rotating
biological contactors (RBCs), sand filtration, and granular activated carbon.
This chapter discusses the remedial design process for the project, lessons learned regarding the
remedial design process, and recommendations for future projects.
SITE BACKGROUND
The New Lyme Superfund Site is located in Ashtabula County, Ohio, approximately 20 miles east
southeast of Cleveland. The site occupies approximately 100 acres. Approximately 35 to 40 acres of
the site is an old landfill which began operation in 1969. The landfill operated until 1978 as a
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