Eastwick project battered by Hurricane Isaias
The Hurricane Isaias wind and rain last week briefly called a halt to the ongoing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remediation project which is neutralizing the polluted Clearview Landfill site in Eastwick. “The stormwater basin we created filled up and the Eastwick Park area was flooded with two feet of water,” recounted Josh Barber, EPA Remedial Project Manager as he recalled the rapid rise of Darby Creek which flows past the Superfund site. “The landfill site became an island and some areas suffered erosion, but overall the project fared well.”
Sadly, he said, other residential parts of the neighborhood suffered badly.
Only a portion of the great Clearview mound of contaminated trash has been covered with the four-feet cap of clean soil and overplanted with trees and other vegetation. “But, the project concept works!” stressed the pleased Barber who has coordinated the project from the outset.
The EPA team took the occasion to collect groundwater samples to test for the presence of industrial pollutants which may have been washed down from the contaminated area. Barber indicated the Community Advisory Group (CAG) that acts as the go-between for the EPA on the project will be advised of the test results when they are confirmed.
For more information on the EPA’s progress, visit:
https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=5864
Other information is the website of the Lower Darby Creek Area Community Action Group: www.eldcacag.org
(Photos for this article were provided by Josh Barber of EPA Region 3)
