If the story of the River Road Landfill were a novel, it would take a Stephen King to accurately depict the horror story many believe it has been.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began writing the latest chapter of the landfill's long and tortuous history by publishing a notice that it intended to remove the site, located on state Route 846 in Hermitage and South Pymatuning Township, from the National Priorities -- or Superfund -- List.

"We're basically saying the cleanup measures that were taken have proved effective in our mind and we don't believe any additional cleanup is necessary," said Carrie Deitzel, a Philadelphia-based EPA community involvement coordinator for the Superfund program. "But the cleanup measures that are in place and operating will be continued ... and monitored."

The notice said the EPA had determined that the site posed no "significant" risk to human health or the environment, and therefore, no further cleanup efforts by EPA were required.

"When they're saying significant, what do they really mean by that?" Hermitage Commissioner Pat White asked. "There may be only a few parts per million. It's still there, but they say it's insignificant."

"It's standard wording," Ms. Deitzel countered. "We never say anything poses no risk, because everything poses some risk. There's no such thing in this country as a pristine environment and we never give an absolute guarantee that a site is pristine."

030509