EPA recommends closing some test wells at former Knox County landfill

MOUNT VERNON — The county will soon see some financial relief from maintaining test wells at the former landfill on Thayer Road.

The site has many ground wells, and the Environmental Protection Agency requires the county to test the soil twice a year.

“It costs about $100,000 every year to handle the site,” County Administrator Jason Booth said.

The county contracts with Bennett and Williams Environmental Consultants for the testing. 

The EPA has now recommended the county close and discontinue testing at 14 well sites. 

“Based on historical testing data, they are not testing at a level that warrants continual testing,” Booth explained.

The county will save about $10,000 yearly in testing costs by closing the 14 sites. 

The county will realize additional savings because Bennett and Williams will spend less time at the site. 

It also means the county can eliminate a homeowner lease to access the site.

The commissioners will start closing the wells in the fall after harvest season. 

The site was formerly the city dump, but the county maintained the site under a 30-year lease. No one is clear on how it came to be the county’s responsibility.

The lease expired on Dec. 31, 2021. In November 2021, the city donated the 63 acres to the county.

The EPA initially required testing for 30 years. That time frame is past, and the EPA still requires testing.

Booth said the county must test the remaining test wells for at least five years.

“We could then potentially apply to have them removed, too,” he said.

“I don’t think we thought testing would end after 30 years,” Commissioner Teresa Bemiller said.

“The EPA isn’t going to give us a definite answer, five more years or 10 more years,” Booth agreed. “They’re just not going to do that.”