U.S. EPA, responsible parties outline multi‑year plan to remove 51,000 drums from Fremont barrel fill near Springfield

Representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and contracted firms briefed the Springfield City Commission on plans to excavate more than 51,000 buried drums at the Fremont City barrel fill site and to build a new hazardous‑waste containment cell on site.

The update, delivered during a city commission work session, said the project is at the 30% design stage, that three baseline groundwater monitoring events have been scheduled, and that responsible parties under a federal consent decree are expected to pay for the work. Officials said drum removal will occur one barrel at a time and could take multiple construction seasons.

The project matters because the barrel fill is close to the aquifer that supplies drinking water to Springfield and other communities in southwest Ohio. Commission members and community stakeholders have pressed for a cautious approach to avoid causing contamination during excavation.

Officials said there are roughly 50 waste cells…