Havertown PCP

September 1999

Collection Trench Completed

This summer, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finished building a trench designed to capture the contaminated shallow ground water flowing from the Havertown PCP Site located on Eagle Road. This contaminated water once discharged to Naylors Run. Now it is collected in the trench, and cleaned before discharge. To date, over three million gallons of ground water have been collected and cleaned in a temporary treatment system set up at the site.

For the next six to eight months, the water will be cleaned by EPA using the temporary treatment system. During this time, plans for the final treatment system will be finalized. Once the system is designed, it will be installed in the treatment plant building. In 1991, EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania outlined the cleanup plan for shallow ground water in a legal document call the Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD broke the project into four parts:

Install a collection trench behind the Philadelphia Chewing Gum factory (completed). The trench is 200 feet long by 18 feet deep, and is capturing the oil and contaminated ground water that is moving from the site under Eagle Road and towards Naylor's run.
Install two oil extraction wells along Eagle Road (completed). These wells will reduce the size of the contaminant plume floating on the water table. These wells will be pumped once the permanent treatment system is in place.
Seal the existing storm drain to prevent contamination from entering it. This will be done by placing a liner inside the pipe, or by mending the pipe joints with an impervious grout. This will allow only storm water to flow into this drain.
Construct a ground water treatment plant. The treatment plant will clean the ground water before discharging it into Naylor's Run. The building that will house the treatment plant has been completed. Now that the trench is completed, the size and makeup of the treatment system design can be finalized, and the system fabricated.

EPA, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and USACE's con- tractor, Radian International, Inc., started constructing the trench at the end of April, 1999, and completed the trench at the end of July, 1999 (with the exception of the restoration of the surface, which is now being planned).

Throughout the construction process, contaminated water that flowed into the trench was collected and treated. As shown by the quantity of contaminated water that the trench is intercepting, the trench appears to be working as planned.

Upcoming Actions

EPA, USACE, and Radian will be completing the following activities over the next months:

Test pumping of the trench to determine the quantity of water and the concentration of contaminants collected. This information will be used to finalize the design of the treatment plant. (September)
Request proposals from qualified vendors of treatment systems that can clean the contaminated water from the trench and wells. (September - November)
Fabricate and install the treatment plant. (Spring-Summer 2000)
Construct trenches for pipelines that will connect the collection trench (behind the Philadelphia Chewing Gum Company) to the treatment plant building (on the former Lobb Lumber property). (Fall 1999)

Upcoming Work

Seal the storm drain (Fall 1999).
Remove the existing oil/water separator on Naylor's Run (after sealing storm drain).
Restore/landscape areas disturbed by construction (ongoing).

In Other News

"EPA Adds $53 Million to Pennsylvania's Clean Water Fund"

Public health in Pennsylvania will be enhanced through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The $53.3 million grant to the state's Clean Water Revolving Fund will provide loans to communities for cleaning and treating wastewater (sewage). State funds, provided as a match to the federal funds, add nearly $10.7 million, bringing the total contribution this year to almost $64 million. The grant was awarded to the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (Pennvest). With this recent grant award, federal funds for Pennsylvania's Clean Water Revolving Fund now total $618.9 million. The fund provides assistance to communities with the greatest public health concerns, and the least ability to comply with the Clean Water Act and afford wastewater treatment facility upgrades or new construction. As communities repay the fund, loans are available for other wastewater projects. Earlier this year, EPA also awarded a grant to Pennsylvania's Drinking Water Revolving Fund which improves drinking systems throughout the state. This fund is also managed by Pennvest.

Site Contacts

If you have any questions regarding the Havertown PCP Superfund Site, you may contact Gregory Ham, Project Manager, or Lisa Brown, Community Involvement Coordinator for the site.

Contact information for EPA representatives is listed below:

EPA CONTACTS

Community Involvement Coordinator
Lisa Brown (3HS43)
800-553-2509
215-814-5528
brown.lisa@epa.gov

Remedial Project Manager
Gregory Ham (3HS21)
215-814-3194
ham.greg@epa.gov

Superfund Community Involvement Hotline (800) 553-2509

To reach EPA on issues unrelated to Superfund, call our Customer Service Hotline at (800) 438-2474.

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