Beazer East Inc. to clean up toxic dump in Petrolia
Share with others:
One of the corporations responsible for contaminating water used by more than 900 homes, businesses and schools in and around the northeastern Butler County village of Petrolia has agreed to pay $18.1 million to clean up toxic waste dumps and help build a new public water system.
The payment by Beazer East Inc., part of a consent order and agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection, is the largest cash settlement in the history of the state's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program.
"We have reached a settlement that has Beazer paying its fair share to provide clean drinking water and help clean up the disposal sites," said Kelly Burch, DEP's northwest region director. " With this agreement, we can avoid future delays and legal costs, moving ahead to ensure residents are made whole by the corrective actions."
The polluted water was caused by chemical runoff and spills at 24 dump sites used from the 1950s through the 1970s by Pittsburgh-based Koppers Co., which operated a plant that produced toxic adhesives, and Witco, which operated a petroleum plant.
Beazer bought Koppers in 1988 and is responsible for the contamination from the old dump sites known collectively as the Bear Creek Area Chemical Site. Witco is now owned by Connecticut-based Crompton Corp.
DEP has been providing bottled water to about 800 homes, businesses and the Bruin Elementary School since March of last year following tests that showed the waste sites had contaminated groundwater and water wells. Beazer East is providing water to approximately 135 additional homes.
In March, DEP announced it was taking immediate action to have the sites cleaned up and would hire contractors to do the work.
Mitchell Bourman, environmental manager for Beazer, said the consent order settles the liability the company inherited when it bought Koppers.
"We're thrilled with the settlement," Bourman said. "It covers all locations we are responsible for in the site area and provides money to implement cleanup of the sites and installation of the water system in the fastest possible way."
The Petroleum Valley Regional Water Authority will be formed by municipalities around Petrolia and will design, build and run the new water supply system. The system will provide drinking water to four townships in northeastern Butler County and northwestern Armstrong County.
As the cleanup and water replacement projects move forward, DEP will seek reimbursement from other responsible parties.
The consent order will not affect a pending federal lawsuit brought against Beazer in February by two citizens groups: Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future and Small Towns Opposed to Polluted Sites, the latter formed in January 2000 when the well water contamination was first discovered. A court date has not been set.
"This is not the end of the story,'' said Jeanne Clark, a PennFuture spokeswoman. "While this settlement resolves the problem of replacing the water, it does nothing to stop the current ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act, nor does it compensate Beazer's victims for their loss of water and added expense. It also fails to provide for a health study to determine the effects on the residents of drinking and using the poisoned water.''
First Published May 9, 2003 12:00 am
