| Abstract |
The 345-acre Northside Landfill is in a mixed residential and agricultural area, in the northwest corner of the city of Spokane, Spokane County, Washington. The landfill has been used since the 1930s by the city of Spokane and a variety of private and public haulers for disposal of residential and light commercial refuse. The landfill is divided into four disposal units: a refuse unit, a grease skimmings unit, an old open burn unit and a sewage sludge unit. Only the refuse unit is active; however, it is scheduled to close by 1992. The western one-third of the land fill lies over the large Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA). The SVRPA was designated as a sole source of water supply for the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area by EPA in 1978. Investigations conducted in 1981 and 1983 indicated the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) beneath the site and in offsite residential wells located northwest of the landfill. The city immediately supplied the 19 affected residences with bottled water and has since extended municipal water lines to the area. The primary contaminants of concern affecting the ground water are VOCs including PCE, TCA, and TCE. In addition, iron and lead exceed the secondary drinking water standards offsite. |
