Tonight’s Information Session (Evergreen note: refers to the August 27, 2020 Public Information Session) offers a strong basic primer on geology, groundwater and characterization of the contamination readings, and the presenters are very good at explaining things. Many engaged community members have already studied this material together, and with a variety of other subject matter experts, and are ready to move on to learning more about the key decisions being made now (or soon) about contamination management and clean up. Similarly, at the recent meeting held by SKEO and EPA, representatives were resistant to answering public questions beyond the scope of the TASC report. Limiting what information will be given to the public to arbitrarily defined packages does not support meaningful engagement or transparency as defined by the law. I agree with other suggestions that Evergreen and others focus future discussion on critical paths for decision making about management of risks to adjacent communities and the ecological future of the site. As this meeting approaches its end, will you commit to a part 2 of this meeting, soon, to discuss decision making?

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DEP requested Evergreen to re-open the comment period for previously submitted Act 2 reports and provide a venue where the information contained in those reports would be presented to the public.  This was also echoed by the request from the City to begin and end the comment period with meetings about those previously submitted Act 2 reports.  Therefore, the Jan. 14, 2021 meeting included an open Q&A session... read more

Will this presentation be uploaded with closed captioning and translated/available in other languages? (Evergreen note: the question refers to the August 27, 2020 Public Information Session).

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The presentation and other key documents have been posted to the website in three additional languages (Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish), which are the three next most commonly spoken languages in the Philadelphia region.  The website has also been modified to include a translation button on each page for translation of Q&A and other website... read more

Many of the finalized online reports reflect reviews done between 2011 to 2016 with no updates. How can I learn what happened next? Is there a person to contact with specific, referenced questions, which would be onerous for a Zoom conference?

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Remedial Investigation Reports do not get updated once approved.  Once RIRs are completed and approved, other reports are submitted with additional information, activities, and updates in the Act 2 process.  Evergreen has multiple reports planned for 2021 and will provide a draft schedule on the website of upcoming reports.  We have also provided copies of the semi-annual update reports on the website, which are... read more

If residents are going to invest time & energy in providing our comments, we need to know that there will be responsiveness to the comments- and they won’t just sit on a website (thank u for the website btw!). Specifically: can “approved” reports that didn’t have public input until now be reopened and revised based on public comments that find any inadequacies in the reports? Otherwise what is the point of us commenting?

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Evergreen is in the process of receiving questions from the public concerning the approved Remedial Investigation Reports. These reports will be revised if new information is found concerning the conclusions of the Remedial Investigation Reports. The comments received during this phase will also inform the future Act 2 phases, which have yet to occur at the site. These include the Fate and Transport, Risk... read more

Thank you for doing your best to use plain language and take the measures you have to try to include the public, as is required by Act 2. Will you hold more regular small group sessions, as a necessary precursor to the public being able to submit educated comments? Information only presented in a one-way format does not enable true public engagement.

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Evergreen has offered to community groups, such as Philly Thrive, to meet in smaller group settings to answer questions concerning the Site. Evergreen will work with the community to develop the best format to engage in smaller group settings as part of the Act 2... read more

The information on your website seems to be outdated but i recently received a letter in the mail asking us to submit comments. I worry about our community over the river in South Philly who have dealt with countless decades of health problems due to this harmful refinery. Please keep me updated on this matter.

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We appreciate that you have taken the time to look at the Evergreen website. The intent of the website is to be a central location that contains environmental reports for the site, a summary of questions and comments, and news about upcoming events. We are continually updating the website with new information. The postcard was part of Evergreen’s overall outreach plan to the community and we welcome any comments... read more

Why was there no meeting 11/7/20. Why was Evergreen “blocked” from the meeting? Was there a meeting at all?

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Evergreen is unaware of the exact reason the meeting was blocked by certain members of the public. The purpose of that meeting was to initiate public involvement by introducing who Evergreen is, provide a summary of the work that has been completed at the site to date, and discuss Evergreen’s future activities. Evergreen held a virtual meeting on August 27, 2020 for the same purpose. ... read more

Does Evergreen consider the 11/7 “event” a formal meeting, and if so, does this start the timeline for them? If it does not, when will the next meeting be held?

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Evergreen was disappointed that entrances were blocked at the planned meeting on Nov. 7, 2019, preventing members of the community and agency officials from engaging in a discussion about the environmental condition of the refinery property. Evergreen views the public engagement process for the site as ongoing, as comments and questions from the public have been collected since the attempted meeting which involve... read more

Public Participation that begins after the all the information is gathered, everything decided and recommendations are ready to be presented to the public is not adequate public participation. Public participation must begin at the beginning, not the end or near the end.

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Sunoco submitted a public notice at the time of the Notice of Intent to Remediate (NIR) that started the Act 2 process, and similarly when the NIR was updated two times afterwards. In addition, Sunoco/Evergreen completed public notice when each of the 21 Act 2 reports were submitted to the PADEP. Evergreen also held a public meeting in 2006, during the early stages of the Act 2 activities at the Site, and remains... read more