EPA: Abandoned Landfill Source Of Groundwater Contamination

MUSKEGO, Wis. -- The federal government may have pinpointed the source of contaminated groundwater in Muskego.

For years, neighbors of an abandoned landfill have blamed the operators of that site, Waste Management, for contaminating their wells. Waste Management hasn't used the facility for decades and the area is now part of an Environmental Protection Agency superfund cleanup.

The company helped to provide municipal water to the area, so residents didn't have to drink the well water, but has also continued to claim that the contamination could have come from any number of sources other than the landfill.

An EPA report, obtained by WISN 12 News, for the first time maps out the plume of contamination. It shows areas with higher levels of vinyl chloride and states that, in the opinion of the EPA, the old landfill is the source of groundwater contamination in the study areas.

That's vindication for neighbors, like Muskego resident Tony Vitrano.

"It only confirms what I've always contended, that they've been at fault and they've been denying. But this confirms it. It's -- wow -- it's a comfort," Vitrano said.

The report also concludes that the contamination is limited to the area now being served by municipal water.

There is no evidence that anyone who has a private well that is contaminated is currently using that well for drinking water.

Still, Vitrano believes the contaminated water below ground has tainted his land.
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