Bishop Tube

Site Facts

Municipality: East Whiteland Township, Chester County
HSCA Site Since: 1999
Primary Contaminant of Concern: Trichloroethene (TCE)
Previous Property Owners and Operators: Johnson Matthey Inc.. (previously known as J. Bishop, Matthey Bishop) , Whittaker Corporation, Christiana Metals & Alloy Steel, Marcegaglia USA, Central & Western Chester County Industrial Development Authority
Current Property Owner: Constitution Drive Partners L.P. (CDP)

What's New (As of March 2019)

Please refer to the Investigation Status and the What’s Next? sections for updated information and documentation.

Investigation Status

In accordance with a DEP agreement with Johnson Matthey, Inc. and Whitaker Corporation (JM/W), Roux Associates (Roux) has been working on behalf of JM/W to complete the Remedial Investigation (RI) of the Site. (For details associated with the agreement(s) please see the Legal Agreements Section).

To complete the RI, Roux is performing the following activities:

1. Evaluating discharges to the Little Valley Creek.

2. Completing the delineation of site-related groundwater contamination. On March 1, 2019 – Roux submitted a work plan, on behalf of JM/W, to model the extent of the plume.

For information regarding the technical details of the investigation please refer to:

In mid-November, DEP performed limited subsurface investigation activities to supplement the characterization of certain areas of concern at the former Bishop Tube property. Results from these sampling activities were provided to Roux for inclusion in the Supplemental RI and Feasibility Study (FS) reports.

CDP

CDP submitted redevelopment plans to East Whiteland Township. For details associated with the plans, please refer to East Whiteland Township's website.

CDP has not yet submitted any permit applications related to its proposed development activities, such as storm water management, etc. CDP is required to allow reasonable access to the property for assessment and remediation.

DEP considers any local land development issues, such as zoning or steep slope variances, to be exclusively under the authority of East Whiteland Township.

At DEP's request, CDP took steps to address a direct discharge to Little Valley Creek that was observed during the spring of 2017. The correspondence related to the discharge is now available in the Correspondence Section below. CDP's efforts to address the pipe are summarized in the below referenced report:

April 30, 2018: CDP Sanitary Pipe Abandonment – Summary Letter (PDF)

Site Background and Information

What's Next (As of March 2019)

The Feasibility Study (FS) is due on May 16, 2019.
The Remedial Investigation (RI) Report is due within 60 days DEP’s approval of the modeling work plan.
After review of the RI/FS reports, DEP will propose a remedial response action to address the contamination associated with the Site. DEP will incorporate all information it uses in formulating its proposal into the Administrative Record. DEP's responsibility under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act is to select a remedy that is protective of human health and the environment and complies with all statutory and regulatory requirements.
The Administrative Record will be open for public comments for 90-days. During the comment period, DEP will hold a public hearing at a location to be determined at a later date.
East Whiteland Township has been awarded a Technical Evaluation Grant (TEG) pursuant HSCA. The TEG provides up to $50,000 for conducting an independent technical evaluation of a proposed remedial response at a HSCA site.

Correspondence

Reports

March 31, 2017: Preliminary Feasibility Study Screening Memorandum (PDF)
August 31, 2015: Remedial Investigation Report submitted by Roux Associates on behalf of M/W (PDF, 215 MB)
June 14, 2011: Act 2 Final Report submitted by Environmental Standards on behalf of CDP (PDF)
February 2008: Final Supplemental Site Characterization Report, prepared by Michael Baker Jr., Inc. on behalf of DEP (PDF)
Aug 27, 2004: Final Soil Gas and Shallow Groundwater Sampling Report prepared by Michael Baker Jr., Inc. on behalf of DEP (PDF)
July 2, 2004 Final Phase III Supplemental Groundwater Investigation Report prepared by Michael Baker Jr., Inc. on behalf of DEP (PDF, text only, to review the full report, please schedule a file review in the regional office)
June 30, 2003: Final Supplemental Soil Characterization Report prepared by Michael Baker Jr., Inc. on behalf of DEP (PDF, text only, to review the full report, please schedule a file review in the regional office)

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Evaluations

April 6, 2016: ATSDR letter (PDF)
July 16, 2008: ATSDR Evaluation (PDF)

Legal Agreements

Public Comment Period

On April 1, 2017 the Department published a notice in the PA Bulletin and Daily Local Newspaper to provide public notice with respect to amendments to the PPA between DEP and CDP. DEP and CDP executed two amendments to the PPA in January 2007 and June 2010. DEP accepted written comments on the Amended PPA's up until July 7, 2017. In January 2018, DEP finalized its Response to Comments document.

Contacting DEP

To schedule an appointment to review files associated with the Bishop Tube site and project, please call the Norristown Office at 484-250-5910.
Please direct correspondence or inquiries to one of the following:

Project Information: Dustin Armstrong, Project Officer at darmstrong@pa.gov
Community and Media Relations: Virginia Cain, Community Relations Coordinator at vicain@pa.gov
Legal: Adam Bram, Supervisory Counsel at abram@pa.gov