On February 27, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a third and final wave of more than $1 billion for cleanup projects from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at more than 100 Superfund sites across the country as part of the Investing in America agenda. 

“Today’s funding announcement continues EPA’s historic investment in the remediation of our nation’s most contaminated sites,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “As a result, the legacy pollution at five Superfund sites in the mid-Atlantic will be cleaned up, providing public health protection to several communities in Delaware and Pennsylvania.”

Four cleanup projects in Pennsylvania will start--

-- At the Jackson Ceramix, Inc. site in Jefferson County, funds will go towards the excavation and disposal of soil and sediment contaminated with lead. The contamination is from past industrial and manufacturing activities at the site. After the excavation, there will be a site-wide wetland restoration.

-- At the Valmont TCE site in Luzerne County, funds will be used for thermal remediation to remove contamination from below the ground surface using heat. The chemicals will be collected as vapors and then destroyed.

-- At the Salford Quarry site in Montgomery County, EPA will be working to contain buried waste that has historically impacted groundwater using a perimeter wall below the surface and an impermeable cap. 

-- At the Baghurst Drive site in Montgomery County, funding will be used to conduct remediation of contaminated groundwater. The cleanup technology will heat up the soil and bedrock to a temperature that will volatilize and capture contaminants. This will remove the source of contamination to groundwater and be the first step in restoring groundwater to drinking water conditions.

In addition to the new cleanups announced, new investment will support continued construction at a number of Superfund sites across Pennsylvania-- 

-- At the Crossley Farm site in Berks County, funds are enhancing groundwater treatment. The funding involves pumping contaminated groundwater to a treatment plant on the site, and improvements to the current plant. The water that will be treated is from a highly contaminated area known as the source area.  

-- At the North Penn Area 6 site in Montgomery County, initial BIL funding was used to complete excavation and disposal of contaminated soil, place new clean backfill, and restore the JW Rex property in just over 1 year.  The continued clean-up work at the JW Rex property will help to accelerate the total remediation efforts at the North Penn Area 6 site.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

Related Articles:

-- DEP Invites Comments On Consent Agreement Related To Purchasing A Portion Of Ridge Run PFAS Contamination Site In Bucks County  [PaEN]

-- Comments Invited On DEP Consent Agreements On Purchasing Parts Of The Topton Hazardous Site In Berks County  [PaEN]

-- EPA Announces Funding For New Superfund Cleanup Projects In Jefferson, Luzerne, Montgomery Counties  [PaEN]

[Posted: February 28, 2024]

3/4/2024