The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises that it will hold a special community meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 23 at Eastwick Recreation Center at 80th Street & Mars Place.
Present at the meeting will be representatives of the EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council who are interested in hearing the community’s views on the progress of the project which will cap and remediate the polluted Clearview landfill superfund site in Eastwick near Darby Creek.
Also speaking at the open community gathering will be EPA Remedial Project Manager, Josh Barber, who will provide one of his informative project status updates. Barber has spearheaded the project at EPA Region 3 since its inception almost 16 years ago.
Attending from the EPA will be members of the Superfund Task Force Working Group which visits superfund sites all over the country. Its Council is tasked with making sure that the EPA is communicating well on its cleanup projects and includes environmental justice as a priority in its cleanup and redevelopment of Superfund sites. It is made up of a diverse group of experts whose background includes academic, legal, financial, land use, and community-based organizations. Their discussions with local representatives help them troubleshoot individual projects and develop national policy recommendations.
The remediation of the 70-year old toxic Clearview landfill involves the unique process of isolating the more than 100-acre site from Darby Creek and the surrounding neighborhoods, sealing and capping off the entire polluted area with a four-foot layer of uncontaminated soil, and planting it with thousands of trees and bushes.
The views of local residents and businesses will be welcome, in addition to interaction with the Lower Darby Creek Area Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) which formally represents the Clearview landfill’s neighbors. The CAG includes not only local residents but also members of community organizations and area experts in various disciplines related to the cleanup – health, land use, air, and water quality, and the like.
For more information, visit the CAG’s website at http://www.eldcacag.org Article by Ted Behr; Photo courtesy of Larry Brown, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator for the LDCA site.
