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?

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 several preliminary risk assessments, including accounting for the projection of dissolved contaminant migration in groundwater. All assessments to date have shown that conditions with respect to groundwater beneath the facility are protective of human health both onsite and offsite. Evergreen is working on a complete groundwater fate and transport analysis, which projects where and how far contaminants may travel and at what concentrations, as well as other reports that will provide additional and more detailed analysis.

Response also addresses the following question:

I am a New Jersey resident who is extremely concerned about the potential for groundwater contamination at the PES refinery site and how it could affect my young child. The area has been highly contaminated for a century, and residents of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey are now well aware of the dangers posed by groundwater contamination, following high-profile cases in Tom’s River, NJ, and the now-confirmed systemic drinking water contamination occurring as a result of fracking the Marcellus Shale. Please follow the advice of experts at the Clean Air Council and perform an immediate and thorough and plan to identify and remediate contamination.