Ordot Dump | |
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Superfund site | |
Geography | |
CDP | Ordot |
Census area | Chalan Pago-Ordot |
Territory | Guam |
Coordinates | 13°26′20″N 144°45′01″E / 13.4389°N 144.7504°E |
Information | |
CERCLIS ID | GUD980637649 |
Contaminants | Hazardous waste landfill leachate |
Progress | |
Proposed | 20 December 1982 |
Listed | 8 September 1983 |
Construction completed | 9 September 1992 |
List of Superfund sites |
Ordot Dump, also known as Ordot Landfill, was a landfill on the western Pacific island of Guam that operated from the 1940s until 2011. Originally operated by the U.S. military, ownership was transferred to the Government of Guam in 1950, though it continued to receive all waste on the island, including from Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base, through the 1970s.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated Ordot Dump a Superfund site in 1983. In 2002, the U.S. government sued Guam under the Clean Water Act to force it to clean up Ordot Dump, resulting in Guam entering into a consent decree to close and cover the dump. After Guam failed to do so, the EPA put the landfill into receivership. The receiver closed Ordot Dump in 2011.
In 2017, Guam sued the U.S. government for part of the costs of cleaning up the dump, which were estimated to range as high as $160 million. The Federal government argued that the statute of limitations had already run out for Guam to file suit. The Supreme Court of the United States heard the case, Guam v. United States, and decided unanimously in May 2021 to allow Guam's case to continue.