Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill
Encyclopedia
Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill opened in 1935 in Fresno, California
, was the first modern landfill
in the U.S., pioneering the use of trenching, compacting, and daily burial to combat rodent and debris problems. It became a model for other landfills around the country, and one of the longest-lived. The landfill was operated by the City of Fresno until it closed in 1989. At that time, the landfill had reached the size of 145 acre (0.5867947 km²).
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 2001.
site and was finalized on the NPL list on October 10, 1989.
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, was the first modern landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
in the U.S., pioneering the use of trenching, compacting, and daily burial to combat rodent and debris problems. It became a model for other landfills around the country, and one of the longest-lived. The landfill was operated by the City of Fresno until it closed in 1989. At that time, the landfill had reached the size of 145 acre (0.5867947 km²).
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 2001.
Superfund site
In 1983, the California Department of Health Services was conducting tests and found that the site contained methane and vinyl chloride gases that were penetrating into the surrounding areas around the landfill. These tests also concluded that contaminants were being found in private ground-water wells around the landfill. On June 24, 1988, the site was proposed as a superfundSuperfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
site and was finalized on the NPL list on October 10, 1989.