Company pays for cleanup of old toxic dump site

A Maryland-based chemical company will cover the federal government's cleanup costs of an old landfill in upper Bucks County that polluted nearby soil and groundwater.

On Feb. 5, the W.R. Grace company paid $63 million to the Environmental Protection Agency to resolve claims regarding dozens of Superfund sites across the country, including the old dump in Richland.

The Watson Johnson Landfill on East Pumping Station Road operated from the 1950s to the 1970s and accepted municipal and industrial wastes, according to the EPA. In 1998, concerned residents asked the EPA to investigate the landfill, leading to the discovery of cancer-causing toxins, such as polychlorinated biphenols, in the soil and ground water.

Cleanup began in 2009 and a the EPA will start to build a multi-layer cover system for the site later this year.