A.L. Taylor Valley of the Drums Superfund Site

Wilson Creek

Wilson Creek is a small stream that runs along the eastern side of the Valley of the Drums site. It drains into the Salt River, which drains into the Ohio River. The drums on the site leached contaminants into the soil and groundwater, which was carried into Wilson Creek via surface water runoff. Interceptor trenches and a water treatment system were constructed on the site in 1979 to help prevent the further release of pollutants into Wilson Creek. There are currently twelve groundwater monitoring wells around the Valley of the Drums site to detect movement of contaminants migrating off-site toward Wilson Creek.  

In 2007, site inspections found drum carcasses and hardened paint sludge off the designated boundaries of the Valley of the Drums site and located on and around Wilson Creek. A full-scale investigation into this waste occurred during 2010 and 2011 and found solidified paint and drum carcasses in the surface water and sediments along the creek. The investigation determined the waste to be non-hazardous. In March of 2017, four fifty-five-gallon drums of paint debris were collected from the banks of Wilson Creek and properly disposed of off-site.

Current observation and maintenance activities include sampling and analysis of surface water upstream and downstream of Wilson Creek. The 2018 Five-Year Report for the Valley of the Drums site noted that the surface water and sediment samples at Wilson Creek had not been collected regularly. There is no further information regarding the frequency of sampling at Wilson Creek or the results of these tests.  ^{1, 2} 

The Gully of the Drums

In November 1992, drums were found in Jefferson Memorial Forest, just northeast of the A. L. Taylor Superfund site. The owner of an adjacent property reported to Superfund officials that they believed there were still drums located in a wooded area northeast of the Superfund site in an area belonging to the Jefferson Memorial Forest. A Removal Assessment Evaluation and Eligibility Form from 1992 informally named the site the Gully of the Drums to distinguish it from the Superfund site. 

Currently, there are still drum carcasses in this area. Gaps in information surrounding property ownership and deed transferal dates have complicated the efforts to clean up the site. The state of Kentucky controls the site, so it does not qualify for federal funding, and site assessment and cleanup are a matter for state officials. ^{30, 31, 32} 

Jefferson Memorial Forest

Created in 1945, the Jefferson Memorial Forest covers over 7,500 acres, including hiking trails, camping areas, and recreation areas spanning Jefferson and Bullitt counties. The Forest is considered one of the largest municipal urban forests in the United States. The Forest also acts as a nature preserve and protects almost 300 plant species and the natural habitat for various animals. This parkland also benefits the area by providing critical environmental benefits through carbon storage which helps preserve the air quality.  ^{3, 4} 

General Shale Brick Inc.

Purchased by General Shale Brick Inc. in 1956, the Fairdale, Kentucky, mine, and plant, called Plant 38, was an operational brick manufacturing plant. General Shale also operated a shale mine 400 feet above the plant on Coral Ridge. When the plant was active, it, on average, produced more than 30,000 pounds of waste a year, approximately 3,000 pounds of which was released into the environment. The releases included manganese compounds, chromium compounds, and hydrogen fluoride. These chemicals are known to cause neurological dysfunction, cancer, gastrointestinal disease, respiratory distress, or in extreme cases, failure. Because of these releases, the facility is part of the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) which tracks more than 650 hazardous chemicals. After the plant was shut down in 2007, it no longer had to make yearly reports on chemical releases. However, the plant and surrounding area are still subject to five-year reports to monitor ongoing levels of manganese compounds, chromium compounds, and hydrogen fluoride in the air, water, and soil.  ^{5, 6} 

The Crossing Golf Club

Opened in 1950, the Crossing Golf Course is an 18-hole public golf course that covers over three and a half miles of Bullitt County. The course is monitored under the Clean Water Act and has had inspections and evaluations in 2020, 2021, and 2022 with violations most recently reported in 2020. The site has released unhealthy levels of ammonia and chlorine into Brooks Run and other local waterways. These pollutants are on the site in the form of fertilizers used to maintain the appearance of the course and then can enter waterways through runoff. Ammonia and chlorine are dangerous because they can irritate the skin, mouth, throat and eyes, cause difficulty breathing, and can cause lung diseases including cancer and pulmonary edema.  ^{7, 8} 

Brooks Mobile Home and RV Park

The Brooks Mobile Home and RV Park sits 1.2 miles away from the Valley of the Drums site and houses 77 full hook-up RV and mobile home sites. Many sites are concrete pads, and some have a view of Brooks Run Creek. The site is considered and Clean Air Act and a Clean Water Act stationary source of pollution. They have permits that allow for some releases, but they have received multiple notices of violation in the past five years. Kentucky’s Department for Environmental Protection inspects and monitors the site. The portion of Brooks Run Creek adjacent to the site is considered an impaired waterway from surrounding sources and the RV Park itself. The park has had several sewage releases into the creek, although they say they have sewer-system hook-ups at each home site. Sewage releases are responsible for contaminants like nitrogen and phosphorus and dangerously low levels of dissolved oxygen. Brooks Run is home to Endangered Species Act identified threatened and endangered species, but these contaminants have led to it being deemed unsupportive of aquatic life.  ^{9, 10, 11} 

Gardner Denver Louisville

Gardner Denver Inc. makes more than two billion dollars in global sales annually by manufacturing air and gas technologies. The Louisville Gardner Denver Plant, before its closure in 2008, made compressors, blowers, and vacuum pumps. While operational, the plant produced, on average, over 15,000 pounds of chromium waste a year. Chromium is a known carcinogen, and excessive exposure can result in health problems, including kidney and liver damage, and is harmful to agricultural endeavors by hindering crop growth and yield. Most of this chromium was sent off-site to be recycled, but the EPA’s TRI report does note the potential of some point air emissions, but they do not provide data on the volume that may have been released.  ^{12, 13}  

BCSD Willabrook Sanitation

Approximately 44% of Bullitt County households are connected to the four wastewater collection systems operated by the Bullitt County Sanitation District (BCSD). BCSD includes 17 pumping stations and seven wastewater plants. These facilities have faced many problems because the old plants and collection systems need to be upgraded with modern equipment and controls. Additionally, BCSD lacks the necessary equipment for maintaining and evaluating the condition of the plants. 

The Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District took control of the BCSD in 2021 after years of ongoing problems, including raw sewage spills that reached rates of 400,000 gallons a day.

The Willabrook Wastewater Treatment Plant currently handles 120,000 gallons of wastewater per day, with plans to grow the capacity to 900,000 gallons per day. Wastewater treatment plants are heavily monitored to ensure the safety of individuals and the environment, and the monitoring of Willabrook has led to 11 inspections and evaluations resulting in notices of violations. The most recent violations were reported in May of 2022 and showed significant noncompliance for nitrogen and ammonia excesses resulting in these contaminants entering the watersheds of Brooks Run, Brooks Run Creek, Bluelick Creek, and Floyds Fork.  ^{14, 15, 16, 17} 

Sonoco Protective Solutions

Founded in 1899, Sonoco Protective Solutions manufactures packaging materials. The Bullitt County Sonoco plant produces temperature assurance packaging to transport temperature-sensitive products. To make these products, they use urethane produced with diisocyanates which can cause respiratory problems that can lead to respiratory failure and is a known carcinogen. This plant is currently operational and is required to report the use of this toxin to the EPA every year – the most recent report being from June of 2021. While they have reported using diisocyanates, there is no data on chemical releases into the environment, discharge into local bodies of water, or any information regarding how they handle toxic waste products.  ^{18, 19} 

Integrated Commercialization Solutions, LLC

Opened in 1997, Integrated Commercialization Solutions (ICS) handles supply chain logistics for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare companies. The ICS plant in Bullitt County is described as providing “distribution services for specialty medications including cell and gene therapy products, branded and generic pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, and medical devices.” Both EPA and state-level officials undertake recurrent compliance monitoring at this site. The evaluations and inspections uncovered violations in 2019, 2020, and 2022. The most recent violations were found in June 2022, but the report describing these violations has not yet been published. The violations in 2019 and 2020 were related to ICS generating more hazardous waste than they had the permits for and not reporting the excess waste, and improper disposal of pharmaceutical products or items contaminated by pharmaceutical products.  ^{20, 21} 

CSX Freight Train Derailment

On January 16, 2007, a CSX Transportation freight train derailed, releasing several hazardous substances. The derailment caused a large-scale fire that took five days to extinguish. During this time, nearby residents and businesses were required to evacuate. The chemicals released polluted the air, water, and soil and led to emergency response efforts by the EPA. The primary chemicals released on the site were 1,3-Butadiene, C-Hexane, and Methyl Ethyl Ketone. These chemicals can cause neurological dysfunction, reproductive problems, developmental delays, and neuropsychological effects. Additionally, 1,3-Butadiene is a known carcinogen correlated with an increased risk of respiratory cancers. The site was initially an emergency response scene but now is considered a long-term clean-up. The EPA and the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (KYDEP) oversee the current clean-up and monitoring efforts.  ²² 

Coral Ridge Springs Subdivision

The Coral Ridge Springs Subdivision is a new, currently under construction, in Brooks, Kentucky. The subdivision is being constructed by the D. R. Horton Building Company and has five styles of homes that start at $302,900. The subdivision is approximately 2.8 miles south of the Valley of the Drums. Construction sites like this must have several permits and meet environmental regulatory guidelines. Construction is an environmental hazard because of the waste produced, the high dust levels created, the runoff of pollutants commonly found in paints, glues, diesel, oil, and cement, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. These hazards contribute to ozone depletion, poor air quality, surface and groundwater contamination, and soil contamination. Coral Ridge Springs is covered under the necessary environmental permits. The permits were initially obtained in 2019, and no violations have been reported. The dangers of the construction arise from its location within the Bluelick Creek and Floyds Fork watersheds, where runoff pollutants will end up. While the subdivision has the proper permits, there is no discharge monitoring data for the site, so how much pollution it generates is relatively unknown.  ^{23, 24, 25} 

Smith's Farm Superfund Site

The Smith’s Farm, located in Brooks, Kentucky, was originally a 560-acre farm that sits almost three miles southwest of the Valley of the Drums. The farm owner and their family had an uncontrolled dumping operation from the 1940s until the 1970s. Contamination of groundwater, sediment, soil, and surface water led to Smith’s Farm’s addition to the National Priority List in 1986. In the 1990s, cleanup efforts were undertaken on the site. Through information on the drums, the EPA identified ten responsible parties who agreed to pay for the cleanup and ongoing remedial actions.

Tri-City Disposal Company Superfund Site

Sitting three miles southwest of the Valley of the Drums, the Tri-City Disposal Company Superfund Site, located in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, is a fifty-seven-acre site that housed an operational landfill throughout the 1960s. The landfill contains above and below-ground storage drums holding highly volatile liquid waste, lumber scraps, and fiberglass insulation materials. The dump caused contamination of groundwater, soil, and surface water, leading to its placement on the National Priority List in 1989.