Public Notice: EPA Reviews Cleanup at Heleva Landfill (July, 2017) (PDF)

​Ironton, with a population of 150 residents, is a quarter mile to the west. An elementary school is located about 1,500 feet south of the Site. Groundwater discharges from the landfill flow into Coplay Creek and Whitehall Quarry, both of which are used for recreational purposes. Ormrod, a village of approximately 35 families, is located about a quarter mile southeast of the Site.

The 93-acre Heleva Landfill site is located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Open-pit iron ore mining operations in the late 1800s left four open, water-filled pits at the site. In 1967, the site owner operated a sanitary landfill on 26 acres of the site. The landfill accepted general mixed refuse and industrial wastes, including solvents. The landfill closed in 1981 and the landfill operators placed a two-foot layer of clay over the wastes. These activities contaminated soil and groundwater with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Following cleanup, operation and maintenance activities are ongoing.