On July 14, the Department of Environmental Protection visited the Berwick Seep Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act project site in Columbia County to view a recently installed oil recovery system and discuss how the HSCA program mitigates the release of contaminants into the Susquehanna River.

DEP’s Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program and the project contractor, Amentum, demonstrated the system components, discussed the volume of oil collected, answered questions about the oil recovery system and the HSCA project, and viewed the area where oil has been seeping into the Susquehanna River.

“This HSCA-funded project is now successfully addressing a longstanding issue of concern to the Berwick community,” said DEP’s Northcentral Acting Regional Director Jared Dressler.  “DEP is grateful to the multiple property owners where the investigation has taken place and the Borough of Berwick for their coordination and cooperation through a complex and challenging process to make this accomplishment possible.”

The oil recovery system consists of three pump-on-demand (POD) skimmer systems that reduce the amount of oil entering the Susquehanna River by drawing in groundwater containing an oily layer of floating petroleum product.

The oil is separated into a drum where it is stored until taken offsite for proper disposal.

“This is an important interim step as DEP continues our investigation, with the ultimate goal to remediate the source or sources of the contamination,” said Cheryl Sinclair, environmental group manager with DEP’s Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program.

A representative from the Berwick Industrial Development Association (BIDA) also observed the demonstration. A significant portion of the HSCA investigation took place within BIDA’s Berwick Industrial Park.

DEP first received a report in 2004 of an unidentified liquid leaking into the Susquehanna River, causing an oily sheen. Many reports of sheen, bubbles, and odors coming from the river bank have followed intermittently over the years.

The Hazardous Site Cleanup Fund (HSCF) has been utilized in multiple phases to attempt to identify the source or sources of the petroleum product, including the use of groundwater monitoring wells. The scope of the investigation encompasses numerous historical industrial activities and underground storage tanks in the adjacent area.

The HSCF provides funding for DEP to carry out investigation, cleanup, and monitoring activities to address the release of hazardous substances from contaminated sites to the environment. 

In many cases, the HSCF allows DEP to address legacy contamination resulting from past industrial activity where there is no longer a viable responsible party to fund cleanup activities.

More information about the Program, visit DEP’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup webpage.

Related Articles:

-- DEP Blog: Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program Spotlight - Cleaning Up Groundwater

-- EPA Provides $5.5 Million In Bipartisan Infrastructure Funds To Clean Up Bucks and Montgomery County Superfund Sites  [PaEN]

[Posted: July 14, 2022]

7/18/2022