Sheboygan officials have short memories

The Sheboygan Economic Development Corporation is endorsing the construction by the Kohler Co. of another of its high-end golf courses on a nature preserve it owns in the Town of Wilson along Lake Michigan.

The Development Corporation likes the economic benefits it says will accompany the golf course, and also says the company has "a proven track record of environmental stewardship."

Not sure how to square that with this description of this EPA -designated Superfund cleanup site:

KOHLER CO. LANDFILL

EPA ID# WID006073225
Last Updated: May, 2014

Site Description

The Kohler Company Landfill, located in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, is an 82-acre site. Forty acres have been used as a landfill since the 1950s, primarily for the disposal of foundry and manufacturing wastes produced by Kohler's manufacturing facilities. Between 1950 and the mid-1970s, at least four pits were constructed for the disposal of hydraulic oils, solvents, paint wastes, enamel powder, lint from brass polishing, and plating sludges. Approximately 1,600 people live within three miles of the landfill. The nearest residence is one-quarter mile away. The Sheboygan River is located within 300 feet of the site. 

Site Responsibility

The site is being addressed by the responsible party, with oversight by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).

Threats and Contaminants

Groundwater is contaminated with various volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, phenols, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Runoff water and sediments contain heavy metals, phenols, and PAHs. Leachate samples contain VOCs and heavy metals. Waste samples from the landfill contain VOCs, phenols, PAHs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals.

Cleanup Progress

EPA proposed the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983 and finalized the site on the NPL in September 1984.

In 1985, the Kohler Company signed an administrative order on consent (AOC) and began investigating contamination at the site under the supervision of EPA and WDNR. EPA selected a remedy for the Source Control Unit of the site on March 30, 1992. The source control remedy calls for closing the currently operating landfill in phases, installing a multilayer soil cap over the landfill, issuing zoning and access restrictions, and collecting contaminated leachate onsite through a perimeter drain. Design of the selected remedy began in mid-1992 and was completed in November 1995. Construction of the source control remedy began concurrently with the construction of the Ground Water Management Unit remedy in May 1997. The cap construction over a portion of the fill area was completed in fall 1997, with the rest of the cap completed in 1998. 

The Kohler Company also conducted a feasibility study (FS) of potential groundwater remedies for the Groundwater Management Unit. A final remedy, including the collection of groundwater and leachate within an approximately 2,500-foot-long perimeter interception drain along the southern and eastern margins of the landfill, was approved by EPA and WDNR in June 1996. Contaminated groundwater and leachate, collected by the perimeter drain, is being pumped to the City of Sheboygan's publically-owned treatment works for treatment and eventual discharge. The perimeter drain system is intercepting over 95 percent of the horizontal flux of groundwater in the upper aquifer, resulting in the collection and treatment of 14,400 gallons of contaminated liquid per day. Construction of this system is complete.

The first five-year review for the site was completed on September 20, 2002, and the second five-year review was completed on September 20, 2007.  The third five-year review was completed on September 14, 2012, and found that the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment.