The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 has announced that construction work to remediate the polluted Clearview Landfill in Eastwick is scheduled to resume on June 1, 2020.
The work by contractors will focus on the planting of vegetation in the fresh soil cap on top of the superfund mound. As of the March 2020 date when the Covid-19 crisis forced the EPA to cease operations for safety reasons, some 5000 trees had been planted. This is just a small percentage of the plantings which will take place according to Josh Barber, the EPA Superfund site’s project manager.
The EPA feels that the coronavirus risks prevent them from restarting the balance of the cleanups on residential properties.
The Clearview Landfill superfund site comprises about 55 acres and contains a cocktail of chemical pollutants. The remediation plan involves covering the entire plot with a seal and then laying down a 4-foot covering of fresh, uncontaminated soil on top of the 75-foot mountain of trash.
It is within this soil layer the EPA is planting its virtual forest of trees and other vegetation. The site and the waterways flowing through it will also be improved through the treatment of the adjacent wetlands and stormwater management.
For a fascinating insight into the history of the Eastwick and Clearview story, visit “How Philadelphia built a neighborhood on toxic soil of former Clearview Landfill” by Catalina Jaramillo of WHYY.
Updates and contact information may be found on the website of the Community Advisory Group formed of Eastwick and Philadelphia area stakeholders: https://www.eldcacag.org/
Official EPA information is available at: https://www.eldcacag.org/
