cleanup · Cattaraugus County
Ischua Landfill
Town of Ischua
Inactive capped landfill that operated from 1972 to 1975 and reportedly received industrial, commercial, medical and household refuse, including TCE-laced sawdust. DEC detected PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane in groundwater and lists the property as a potential site under characterization.
The documented story
What happened here?
The Ischua Landfill operated for only three years, from 1972 to 1975, but its three waste trenches were substantial: records describe excavations roughly 50 to 75 feet wide, 650 to 1,500 feet long, and 10 to 15 feet deep across a 42-acre property near the county airport.
The short operating period included industrial, commercial, medical, and household refuse. Historical assessments mention tires, garbage, coolants, acids, paint primers, and 8.5 tons of sawdust laced with trichloroethylene—a specific disposal record that helps explain why a rural landfill remained environmentally important decades after closure.
About two feet of soil covered the trenches, yet leachate later surfaced downslope. Water from the property drains through an on-site wetland and unnamed tributary toward Class A Ischua Creek, while a different stream north of Yankee Road flows toward Cuba Lake. Those separate drainage directions are why sampling locations and pathways matter more than a single map pin.
Chronology in context
Turning points in the public record
1972–1975
Waste was placed in three landfill trenches.
1975 onward
Sampling and investigation followed reports of leachate breakout and downstream conditions.
1990
A contamination assessment documented the historical waste record.
2020
DEC's inactive-landfill investigation identified PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane as groundwater contaminants of concern.
2022–present record
DEC scoped a fuller characterization of the trenches, groundwater, surface water, sediment, seeps, and potential receptor pathways; the property remains Class P while that evidence is developed.
Atlas classification: environmental detection, agency investigation.
PFAS activity, investigation, or detection is documented in the cited site record. That documentation does not by itself establish off-site exposure or a health effect in any individual.
Compounds and evidence
Detected
Medium: groundwater
Detected
Medium: groundwater
Evidence limit: These compounds were identified as groundwater contaminants of concern. The record does not establish PFAS production or APFO use at the landfill.
C8 and APFO: PFOA is often called C8. APFO is the ammonium salt of PFOA, but a PFOA environmental result does not identify APFO as the original product or prove where it came from.
News record
Major news events
Coverage selected here marks a turning point in public awareness, policy, enforcement, employment, or cleanup. Links open at the original publisher or archive; WNYAtlas does not reproduce restricted articles or images.
New sampling reopens questions at a rural landfill closed since the 1970s
New York's inactive-landfill initiative detected PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane in groundwater and ordered a fuller characterization of the waste trenches, groundwater, surface water, sediment, and nearby receptor pathways.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ↗Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Health context
Why PFAS are a long-term concern
PFAS are a large family of manufactured chemicals. Many are highly persistent, and some can remain in the environment or build up in people and animals over time. Persistence can allow releases to move through groundwater, surface water, waste systems, food, and fish long after the original use has ended.
Human studies have found associations between increased exposure to certain PFAS and higher cholesterol, lower antibody response to some vaccines, changes in liver enzymes, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, small decreases in birth weight, and kidney or testicular cancer for PFOA. Evidence differs by compound, and research continues. A site detection does not show that a particular person was exposed or that PFAS caused an illness.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane were identified as groundwater contaminants of concern during the state investigation.
- Historical records report TCE-bearing sawdust and other industrial wastes, but the Class P designation does not itself establish a final remedy or exposure conclusion.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The landfill has a soil cover, drainage features, and an upgradient interceptor and infiltration system that diverts groundwater around the trenches.
- Current work focuses on site characterization and defining whether additional action is required.
- Until characterization is complete, the existing cover and drainage features should be described as interim site controls rather than a final remedy.
Then and now
The site today
WNYAtlas labels Ischua as research in progress because DEC lists it as a potential site rather than a completed State Superfund remedy. The record supports concern and continued investigation, but not a claim that a nearby resident drank contaminated water or that every downstream detection came from these trenches.
Atlas connections
Connected places
These collections explain documented material, facility, waterway, ownership, or cleanup relationships. Inclusion does not imply that every place shares one contaminant source or plume.
Southern-tier landfills and disposal sites
These rural and small-community properties show different waste-disposal histories and cleanup stages. They are a comparative collection, not evidence of a shared waste stream.
The gravel pit received an estimated 600 drums from an industrial plant and later required solvent-source and groundwater remediation.
Landfill under characterizationIschua LandfillThe former landfill's mixed waste history and emerging-contaminant findings remain under state investigation.
Managed hazardous-waste landfillFarwell Road LandfillFarwell Road is a closed county disposal site governed by engineering and institutional controls.
Municipal and construction landfillCarroll LandfillCarroll adds a separate leachate, groundwater, wetland, and long-term management record near Frewsburg.
Research status
Open questions
- Update the entry when DEC issues final characterization findings or changes the site classification.
- Do not convert detections in monitoring wells into a public-exposure claim without a documented receptor and completed pathway evaluation.