EPA in Ohio

Layer Park Site

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Layer Park Site map (PDF) (1pg, 5.4MB, About PDF)

October 2016 Update

In the fall of 2016, U.S. EPA plans to begin a cleanup at Layer Park located in a residential area in Miami Township at 4999 Cordell Drive. The township should be able to reopen the park once the cleanup is completed in 2017. A nearby private property will also be addressed.

Preparation work such as tree removal will occur this fall/winter in the contaminated areas. U.S. EPA’s action plan for the cleanup area next spring includes excavating lead-contaminated soil up to 2-feet deep in certain areas of the park found to exceed EPA standards for lead and arsenic and removing it off-site to an approved facility. The excavated area will be backfilled and seeded.  Trees will be replaced in consultation with township and county officials. These actions will protect park users from coming in direct contact with contaminants in the soil.

EPA will monitor the air and control dust with water throughout the course of the cleanup to ensure the safety of workers and the surrounding community. EPA is managing this cleanup under its short-term response program, referred to as a Superfund Removal Action, under its emergency authority. The cleanup is expected to cost approximately $3 million dollars.

See EPA’s Role in Emergency Response.

Site Description

Layer Park is bounded to the north by residences on Bushwick Drive, to the south by residences on Polo Park Drive, to the south and east by the Miami Valley Hunt & Polo Club and to the west by residences on Polo Park Drive and Cordell Drive. See Site Map(PDF) (1pg, 5.4MB, About PDF) A former skeet shooting range used to operate from the Miami Valley Hunt & Polo Club in the 1930s to the 1950s.  A portion of the shooting range eventually became Layer Park. An unknown quantity of lead was deposited on the surface of the soil from skeet activities. Old aerial photos show two skeet-shooting stations were located on the grounds of the Miami Valley Hunt and Polo Club south of the park.

The western half of the park contains a baseball diamond and basketball courts. The eastern half is wooded and contains a shelter, playground equipment and picnic tables. The entire park property is fenced and was closed in January 2016 when the township learned of the presence of lead contamination.

Site Background

Based on the results of 2016 sampling by US EPA and Ohio EPA, cleanup will be done on about 2 and a half acres of the 7-acres site. EPA assessed the site to determine the extent of lead contamination on the site and to determine if it is in excess of EPA's standards—referred to as Removal Management Levels for residential soils. View a copy of the Removal Assessment Report (PDF) (102pp, 16MB, About PDF).

U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA investigators determined contamination varied widely over the 7.5-acre park. Officials found lead concentrations at up to 60 times the safe level in some sections of the park and a residential yard. Arsenic was not found in the yard, but levels of the chemical were discovered in the park at three times the health threshold.

Miami Township closed the park in January 2016 after being informed of the lead contamination. Ohio EPA asked U.S. EPA to take over the cleanup in April 2016. See Ohio EPA Referral Package to U.S. EPA (PDF) (61pp, 7MB, About PDF )

The cleanup by U.S. EPA's short-term removal program will remove the threat to public health and the environment posed by the presence of lead and arsenic in surface soil in the park and nearby property.

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