Community Corner

History of the Sauer Dump

The 2.5-acre Sauer Dump consists of marshland stabilized by filling with various commercial and industrial materials, according to the MDE.

In 1984, a prospective developer asked the Baltimore County Health Department to inspect a 2.5-acre property located between Lynhurst Road and the Back River's western bank, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. At the time, the site served as a dump and salvage facility. 

Large quantity of debris, including auto parts, empty drums and wood and plastic products were found on the surface or partially buried, according to the Maryland Department of Environment. The site allegedly  had been used to store up to 250 drums, which are thought to have contained residual quantities of the summer of 1984.

Additionally, other wastes on the property during site investigations included storage tanks, salvage items such as scrap metal, empty tanks, abandoned trucks, tractor-truck trailers, open roll-off containers, heavy construction equipment and junked cars. Charred areas and burned paint waste have also been observed, according to the EPA.

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Baltimore County Health Department ordered the site operator, Fred Sauer, to clean up the site within 60 days.

“The removal, which was requested by the BCHD, was not supervised by the State or the County,” according to an MDE fact sheet on the dump. “By October 1984, 60 to 70 percent of the cleanup had been completed.” However, Sauer made no records of the waste types and quantities disposed of at the site.

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Since 1984, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the MDE conducted several studies at the site. “The sampling results indicated that the soil, sediment and surface water have elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and, to a lesser extent, pesticides,” according to the MDE.

Based on these studies, the site was determined to be a candidate for the Federal Superfund National Priorities List, due to the extent of PCB contamination in the soil and sediment. In 2001 and 2002, additional sampling was performed in order to further determine the extent of PCB contamination in the soil and sediment. A PCB hot spot—an area of exceptionally high concentrations—and a PCB-leaking transformer-like object were discovered during the investigations. 

In conjunction with those remedial investigations, a feasibility study was conducted to determine the best approach to cleaning up the site.

Since environmental regulations mandate that EPA be notified of any remediation involving PCBs, MDE presented EPA with the cleanup plan in June 2002.  As a result of this meeting, PCB sampling was conducted, which determined that measureable amounts of water-soluble PCBs were present in the on-site groundwater and surface water near the site.  

In September 2002, MDE consulted with EPA’s Removal Program for assistance in conducting a removal of the hot spot area.

In July 2003, MDE removed the transformer object from the site to an approved PCB-disposal facility.

The EPA Removal Program has provided oversight on activities at the site since 2003. A fence has been erected around the site, plastic membranes placed over hot spots, and erosion barriers installed along the shoreline.

The EPA evaluated alternatives for implementing a cleanup remedy and drafted an action memo proposing the chosen alternative, which will leave up to 100 ppm PCBs on site.

The EPA announced Tuesday that it is proposing the addition of the Sauer Dump to the Superfund National Priorities List.

The current owner of the site is the Wittstadt Hunting Club, Inc.


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