NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

October 19, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 418

Contact: Alex Rittberg, Tank Management Branch, Division of Air and Waste Management, 302-395-2500; or Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Public workshop set for Oct. 27 on results of environmental
testing of homes on Hillside Road in Claymont

DNREC’s Division of Air and Waste Management, with assistance from the Department of Health and Social Services - Division of Public Health, will hold a public workshop beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27 on the results of environmental testing of homes on Hillside Road in Claymont. The workshop will be held at the Green Ball Room A&B, Claymont Community Center, 3301 Green Street in Claymont. 

The workshop will update Claymont residents on recent tests conducted on the indoor air quality in four homes and soil gas levels around the foundations of seven homes along Hillside Road. The tests were conducted to determine whether vapors from a 21 year-old petroleum release from an underground storage tank at a former gas station have migrated into basements and other areas of the homes. 

At the workshop, DNREC scientists and the environmental consultant for the project, Kleinfelder, Inc., will review the results of the investigation and answer questions. Staff from the Division of Public Health will answer questions relating to public health or exposure. 

DNREC’s Tank Management Branch, with the assistance of Kleinfelder, Inc., recently completed the petroleum vapor intrusion study, and residents were notified of the results in August and September.

The 1988 petroleum release occurred at 2509 Philadelphia Pike in Claymont – formally doing business as Ron’s Discount Energy Mart and Ron’s Discount Tires. The release contaminated groundwater and soils that resulted in extensive cleanup activities from Delaware’s Hazardous Substance Cleanup (HSCA) Fund. 

On July 31, 2009, DNREC issued a Notice of Administrative Penalty Assessment and Secretary’s Order to the owners, Ronald C. Palimere and Penny Hill Mobil Inc., which included $447,125 in penalties for failure to clean-up the release and $712,887 in cost reimbursement to the Department for cleanup expenses. According to Delaware law, the parties responsible for the release are liable for all past and any future costs associated with the Department’s efforts to clean up the site.

For more information and related documents, including the petroleum vapor intrusion study, can be viewed at the Claymont Public Library and on the Department’s web site: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/whs/awm/Info/Pages/PetrolUpdate-Rons.aspx.