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• Overview
• Arrangement
• Administrative History
• Scope and Contents
• Other Finding Aids
• Access Restrictions
• Acquisition Information
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New York State Division of Solid & Hazardous Materials Bureau of Solid Waste & Land Management Fresh Kills Landfill Facility Files

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Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Numerical.

Administrative History

Fresh Kills, the nation's largest municipal landfill, was created by New York City in 1948. It consisted of freshwater tidal wetlands and encompassed 2,200 acres. In 1996, a state law was passed requiring that the landfill cease accepting solid waste by December 31, 2001. By 1997, two of the four mounds were closed and covered with a thick, impermeable cap. The landfill received its last barge of garbage on March 22, 2001. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Fresh Kills landfill was utilized as the staging area for sorting and analyzing debris and human remains recovered from the World Trade Center site.

Solid Waste breaks down over time. The main byproducts of this decomposition are landfill gas and leachate. As of 2019, Fresh Kills was undergoing landfill engineering treatment with sophisticated systems in place to collect and treat these byproducts in order to protect both public health and the environment.

Scope and Content Note

B2699-19: This accretion consists of eight volumes of leachate control/construction certification reports pertaining to the Fresh Kills landfill. Leachate is the liquid by-product of the breakdown of household waste. The goal of the leachate management system is to contain, collect, and treat leachate before it reenters the environment.

B2699-22: This accretion consists of the post closure monitoring and maintenance operations manual, leachate control/construction certification reports, annual surface water and sediment monitoring reports, and annual ground water monitoring reports, pertaining to the Fresh Kills landfill. Leachate is the liquid by-product of the breakdown of household waste.

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Transfer list is available at the repository.

Acquisition Information

This series was transferred under RDA 21142 and includes records from transfer list 040480.

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.

Access Terms