The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking the input of New Castle community members on a cleanup effort at a contaminated waste dump.
The EPA hosted a meeting at the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center, which is less than 7 miles away from the East Basin Road Groundwater site, on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The site is a recent addition to the Superfund list, a federal program that provides taxpayer dollars for the nation’s most contaminated sites.
New Castle’s inclusion on the list is due to contaminants that were discovered in public drinking water, including chemicals known as PFAS, which have lingered in the area’s groundwater. The contaminants have impacted 11 drinking wells in the area, according to the EPA.
The EPA is working on a characterization study to investigate the site and determine cleanup options. Potential sources of contamination near the area’s drinking water wells also include the Delaware Air National Guard Base, New Castle Airport, the Duncan Readiness Center and the Army Aviation Support Facility, according to the EPA.
Completion of an investigation phase could take years, according to EPA Remedial Program Manager Christian Matta.
“By the end of this year, we will have our contractors in place and sometime in early 2024, we should be working with a group of companies that will be undertaking the delineation of the contamination,” Matta said.
Matta and other representatives of the EPA asked for the public’s assistance in cleaning up the site through a Community Advisory Group. The group is expected to open the lines of communication between New Castle residents, the EPA and the state regulatory agency. It will also allow members to discuss their needs and concerns about the Superfund decision-making process.
So, who is permitted to be on the advisory group?
- Residents who reside near the site
- Anyone potentially affected by site releases
- Local health professionals
- Environmental or public interest groups
- Local business members
- Local professionals
- Native American tribes and communities
- Local grassroots organizations
What are New Castle’s concerns?
U.S. EPA Public Information Officer John Brakeall, who led the meeting at the library, listened as several New Castle residents posed questions about the site and the community advisory group. Some asked about funding for the cleanup, potential health risks and the impact of the contamination.
Karen Igou, a New Castle resident who has a background in environmental justice, questioned the effectiveness of a cleanup.
“Prior to [2016], this was in the water … and it isn’t going anywhere; that’s why they’re called forever chemicals,” Igou said. “I’m so curious as to how you would pull off this feat of moving this body of water and massive land.”
Groundwater is the main source of drinking water in the New Castle area, which has a population of more than 5,000 people. The larger population served by the public wells in the New Castle area includes approximately 215,000 homes and businesses.
Ron Curtis, a 21-year resident of New Castle, urged the EPA to find out who has been dumping wastes at the 5,000-acre site all of these years.
“People like myself in the community have an interest in knowing who is responsible for some of this contamination,” Curtis said. “Some of us don’t have [time] to wait and find out.”
For more information about getting involved with the Superfund site, contact Brakeall at Brakeall.John@epa.gov.
More:Hockessin aquifer now officially a Superfund site
Contact local reporter Cameron Goodnight at cgoodnight@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-324-2208. Follow him on Twitter at @CamGoodnight.
