Natural resource trustee agencies for the 68th Street Dump Superfund site in Maryland released a draft restoration plan (PDF, 29 pages) for the public to review and comment on until March 2, 2020. The plan includes project options intended to restore habitat to make up for hazardous chemicals released into the environment at the 68th Street site, where seven former landfills were once active.

The trustees are proposing hardwood forest restoration on 109 acres within the Belt Woods National Natural Landmark in nearby Prince George’s County, Maryland.  The proposed project will be beneficial to multiple wildlife species, including migratory birds, and will improve forest conditions. This location includes one of the last stands of old-growth hardwoods on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which includes coastal areas from Massachusetts all the way down to Florida.

Trustee agency partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which led development of the draft restoration plan, NOAA and the State of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and Department of the Environment.

Along with the draft plan, NOAA has prepared a draft National Environmental Protection Act Inclusion Analysis (PDF, 3 pages) to address the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action.

To obtain a copy of the draft restoration plan, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 68th Street case page. More information on how to submit public comment by the March 2 deadline can be found in the draft restoration plan document, or you can submit comments in writing to Susan Lingenfelser, Attn. 68th St. Dump at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

• By mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  Virginia Ecological Services Field Office
  6669 Short Lane, Gloucester, VA 23061
• By email: susan_lingenfelser@fws.gov 

The 239-acre 68th Street Dump site was the location of seven former landfills that received industrial and other wastes from more than 40 parties responsible for the release of hazardous substances into the environment. Under a 2018 settlement, the responsible parties are contributing $51.5 million to cleanup and restore habitat.

The site is adjacent to wetlands and several streams that flow into the Back River and eventually the Chesapeake Bay. Those resources are habitat for migratory fish species, including fish like the American shad, Hickory shad, blueback herring and alewife, as well as the American eel.  More information >