Tybouts Corner is an unincorporated populated place in New Castle County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, United States.

Geography

Tybouts Corner is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 13 and Hamburg Road/Bear Tybouts Road just north of an interchange with

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Delaware, Fenwick Island, Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, where the ...

and an intersection with the northern terminus of

Delaware Route 71 Delaware Route 71 (DE 71) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from U.S. Route 13 in Delaware, U.S. Route 13 (US 13) south of Townsend, Delaware, Townsend north to an ...

. Tybouts Corner and has an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of .

History

Tybouts Corner is named after George Z. Tybout, a local landowner and agricultural pioneer in the 19th century. His daughter, Ella Tybout, became a noted magazine writer. The Tybouts Corner landfill opened in 1968. It was initially used only for household waste, but soon industrial waste was deposited there as well, violating state regulations. Fires burned about once a month at the site. The landfill closed in 1971, when it was filled to capacity. In 1980, the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

filed suit against New Castle County for its mismanagement of the waste disposal. The EPA listed the former landfill as the second-most hazardous in the country in 1982. It was listed as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site in 1985. The Stauffer Chemical Company accidentally contaminated drinking water wells in Tybouts Corner with chemical wastes at its plant in the 1970s. Jacob Wagner, who owned a home that bordered the landfill, had yellow water in their well, and he subsequently sued the county. The heavy soil in the area helped limit the spread of pollution. The plant was purchased by Formosa Plastics Corporation in 1981. In 1985, residents were concerned after an environmental group charged Formosa with releasing vinyl chloride emissions. Scientists suggested that it could have poisoned their water. As a result, the wells were closed and residents had their drinking water piped in. A gas tanker with 8,400 gallons of gasoline overturned on U.S. Route 13 in Tybouts Corner in February 1986. It possibly hit a patch of ice and spun out of control. Though no fire was reported, police mandated the evacuation of 30 houses in the area. A temporary gas venting system was installed in 1996. A permanent gas venting system was built in 2000. These systems prevent underground landfill gas from extending beyond the landfill property boundary. In May 2007, the groundwater was considered to have greatly reduced its contents of contaminants, so the EPA and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control shut down the water pumping wells. The following year, quarterly monitoring of the groundwater ended and it has been monitored twice yearly since then.

References

External links

* {{authority control Unincorporated communities in New Castle County, Delaware Unincorporated communities in Delaware