Pittsburgh, PA - Following an exhaustive investigation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Arxada, LLC have entered into a proposed consent decree in U.S. District Court to recoup costs associated with DEP’s 2019-2020 remediation of the former Pool Doctor-Beaver Alkali Products site in Rochester, Beaver County. Arxada has agreed to pay $1.3 million to resolve DEP’s claims that its predecessor, Lonza, Inc., arranged for the disposal at the site of approximately 140 tons of hydantoin, a hazardous substance, under the guise of a sale.
“This investigation, and the subsequent cleanup that DEP led, is an example of our commitment to getting things done for Pennsylvanians and holding polluters accountable,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “I applaud the dedicated staff who have tirelessly worked to not only remediate an environmental, health and safety hazard, but also followed every lead to ensure that those who profited off of this recklessness are held to account.”
DEP began remediating the site in 2019, removing hazardous chemicals that had been improperly stored and disposed of within and outside of site buildings. DEP concluded its on-site response in June 2020. In order to expedite the cleanup of the possibly dangerous chemicals, DEP pursued the remediation under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA).
When DEP initiated its cleanup response, the site consisted of hundreds of drums and containers of unknown liquids and solids improperly stored and disposed of in dilapidated buildings. These substances were associated with chemical businesses and a laboratory that operated out of the buildings located at the site. This site was not a DEP-regulated facility, but DEP responded when it became aware that the threat of a release of potentially hazardous substances into the environment posed a public health and environmental risk.
Additional hazardous chemicals discovered during DEP’s response, structural issues within the larger building onsite, as well as costs associated with security, testing, transport and disposal of the chemicals led to the total cost for the remediation exceeding $2.4 million. During the response it became clear that companies and individuals used the site as an illegal dumping ground, and DEP began an investigation to hold those entities responsible. When DEP concluded its response in June 2020, it vowed to pursue responsible parties for cost recovery. Following through on that commitment, DEP filed a federal action in May 2023 against five defendants—including Arxada—to pursue cost recovery. While this settlement would resolve DEP’s claims against Arxada, DEP’s ongoing cost-recovery effort will continue against the other four defendants with alleged roles in the improper disposal of chemicals at the site.
A copy of the consent decree can be found on DEP’s community information page for this site. DEP will receive comments related to the consent decree through Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Comments may be submitted, in writing, to Paul Vogel, Manager, Hazardous Sites Cleanup, PA Department of Environmental Protection, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or by emailing the Department at RA-EPSW-HSCA@pa.gov.
# # #