The fate and transport analysis for the lower aquifer will be performed once the Remedial Investigation Reports for AOI 4 and AOI 9 have been approved. Areas beneath the Site where connections exist between the lower aquifer and water table aquifer are less extensive than the areas where we have that important clay layer present. The cross section shown during the August 2020 Public Information Session was just... read more
Is the water table or the lower aquifer the source of drinking water for anyone?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
The water table and lower aquifers are not utilized as sources of potable water in proximity to the Site. As a part of the investigations, Evergreen conducted a well search within a one-mile radius of the Site using Pennsylvania’s Groundwater Information System (PaGWIS) and PADEP’s eMapPA GIS mapping tool. Results of the search, which included field reconnaissance, indicated a low probability for potable water... read more
Hi, I live in Siena place. I noticed that Benzene concentration is a light green and close to the dark green shaded areas in the same spot as my current house (very close to pha housing and refinery) (Evergreen note: this question refers to slide #38 “Groundwater Investigation Results – Benzene” in the August 27, 2020 presentation which is available for view or download on www.phillyrefinerycleanup.info). I think it was in the lower aquifer and water table aquifer. Because it is right below my house it seems from the map, can this present a danger to me or the house? Like can my water and be affected? And gas vapors be present? Or is it totally safe to live in this area even though it is below ground?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
Information from the remedial investigation activities do not indicate that there is any risk to indoor or outside air in offsite properties from benzene in groundwater originating from the former Philadelphia Refinery. Evaluation of vapors to indoor and outdoor air from a dissolved plume beneath the subsurface is part of the evaluation required by Act 2. That evaluation will be included in future Act 2 reports to... read more
What are the biggest environmental concerns with the water moving forward as this space is transitioned to a mixed-use industrial site?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
In general, water concerns remain the same between use of the site as a refinery and the proposed use. As part of the Act 2 process, groundwater quality must be investigated as well as migration of and risks associated with the contaminants identified. The groundwater beneath the site is not allowed to be used for any potable (human consumption) or industrial use; therefore, the direct exposure to groundwater... read more
Has NJ DEP been involved with any issues on the NJ side of the Delaware River? Have public and municipal water companies in NJ been notified about pollution in the PRM Aquifer water supply? Have they been notified about AOI 11 efforts by PA DEP and EPA?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
The NJDEP is routinely involved with groundwater investigations of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer (PRM) due to source areas located in New Jersey that are not related to impacts in AOI 11. There has been no demonstrated connection between groundwater impacts in AOI 11 due to past refinery operations and the PRM groundwater quality in New Jersey. As such, the NJDEP has not been involved with cleanup of the... read more
Have there been any studies on the effect of the pollution of the PRM in the water supply in NJ, as public and private water companies draw water from it and Phila stopped using it in the 1990’s because it was too polluted?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
Evergreen is not aware of any available studies that evaluate the fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals in groundwater from the site into New Jersey groundwater. Evergreen plans to complete fate and transport modeling with a numerical groundwater model, which will evaluate the potential migration of petroleum-related chemicals from both the water-table aquifer (AOIs 1-10) and lower aquifer (AOI... read more
What effect has pollution been in the last 7 years since the last reports on AOI 11 were issued on 6/21/2013? We understand that contamination has reached the deep aquifer (area of interest 11), which means we need to clean the water too. We’ve learned from the Clean Air Council that “while Evergreen has made available semiannual groundwater reports through the first half of 2020, that information is not part of the reports open for public comment”.
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
New groundwater data for AOI 11 has been collected since 2013 and it is presented in the Remedial Investigation Reports for each of the other Areas of Interest. Overall, most groundwater conditions in the lower groundwater (AOI 11) have been demonstrated to be stable to improving for petroleum-related compounds since the 2013 RIR was submitted. Data collected annually from sampling events conducted after the... read more
When will the public hearings for AOI 11 under Act 2 take place?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
There is currently no separate meeting planned to discuss AOI-11. Evergreen held a Public Information Session on August 27, 2020 during which the environmental data collected from all AOI’s was reviewed with the public. Additional meetings are planned to be held for future Act 2 submittals and/or other key milestones in the Act 2 process, some of which will include information about AOI 11. The public is... read more
Has AOI 11 cleanup been started? What is the plan for the cleanup for AOI 11?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
Additional investigation has been completed for AOI 11 since the time of the last report submitted solely for AOI 11 in 2013. In fact, the latest Remedial Investigation Reports (RIRs) for each of the AOIs include information about AOI 11, or the lower groundwater unit, within that AOI. We chose to incorporate AOI 11 into the other AOI RIRs in order to give a full description of groundwater within each AOI in these... read more
There has been some concern that because of the aquifer under the water, pollutants from the refinery may impact drinking water in downstream New Jersey. Do you think this was ever a concern? If yes, will it continue to be one even as the refinery shuts down?
Posted by Tiffani Doerr & filed under .
Evergreen’s role is to evaluate and remediate groundwater conditions created based on use of the facility up through 2012. Based on extensive data collected over the last 20+ years, and groundwater modeling performed to date, it is highly unlikely that groundwater impacts at the former refinery site affect drinking water quality in New Jersey. As part of the Act 2 process, Sunoco and Evergreen have performed... read more