The old county landfill: sealed, capped, and monitored

Bethany Township, just southeast of St. Louis, is home to a piece of the same chemical history that affected the city. The old Gratiot County Landfill here took in waste from the Velsicol/Michigan Chemical plant in the 1970s — including the flame retardant PBB — along with ordinary trash. When the contamination was discovered, it became a federal Superfund cleanup site.

The good news is that the cleanup work was finished back in 1995. The contaminated waste was sealed in place: the landfill was wrapped in an underground wall, covered with a thick clay cap, fenced off, and fitted with systems to manage runoff and gas. The county still owns the site and monitors it, and there are legal limits on how the land can be used and on putting in wells nearby.

For most buyers in Bethany Township this is just history — the site is contained and well away from most homes. But if you’re looking at rural land close to the old landfill, it’s worth knowing it’s there, checking exactly where the boundaries and any well restrictions are, and asking the usual due-diligence questions. The EPA keeps public records on the site.