Easton Road PFC Site
Updated December 2022
For more information on PFAS contaminants, and what Pennsylvania is doing on a state level, please visit:
dep.pa.gov/pfas.
Site Facts
Municipality/County: Doylestown, Plumstead & Buckingham Townships, Bucks County
HSCA Site Since: 2016
Why is DEP Investigating?
- In May 2016, after a public supply well in the area was found to contain combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 70 parts per trillion (ppt) Health Advisory Level (HAL), DEP immediately took steps to begin a thorough investigation of the surrounding area.
- DEP’s responsibility under the
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (“HSCA”) (35 P.S. §§ 6020.102-6020.1303) is to select a remedy that is protective of human health and the environment and complies with all statutory and regulatory requirements.
Drinking Water Sampling and DEP’s Response
- Since May 2016, DEP collected samples from more than 350 private wells within the area of interest surrounding the contaminated public supply well.
- Results of this sampling ranged from non-detect (ND) to 229 ppt combined for PFOA and PFOS. 11 homes have been identified with combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS above the HAL.
- DEP identified a localized area of concern within Doylestown Township where the highest concentrations of PFOA/PFOS have been detected.
- The Administrative Record was open for public comment between October 19, 2019 and January 17, 2020.
-
Administrative Record (PDF)
*Hard copies of the Administrative Record are available for public review at DEP’s Southeast Regional Office, and the municipal buildings for the local municipalities: Doylestown Township, Buckingham Township, Plumstead Township, and Doylestown Borough
- DEP held a public hearing on November 18, 2019 at Lenape Middle School in Doylestown Township.
- On April 1, 2020, DEP issued its Statement of Decision (SOD) and Response to Public Comments Document. In the SOD, DEP selected the Installation and Maintenance of Whole-House Filtration Systems (systems) combined with Restrictions on the Use of Groundwater to address the threats posed by exposure to PFOA and PFOS contamination above EPA's HAL in residential privately-owned potable wells within the Site.
- DEP considers this response to be an Interim Response as additional actions may be needed to achieve a complete and final cleanup for the Site.
Based on this determination, DEP does not plan to transfer maintenance of the filtration systems to the residents after the 12-month period. Instead, DEP plans to monitor and maintain the systems to ensure that they are working properly for the duration of its investigation of the Site.
- As of May 2022, DEP has installed or upgraded existing systems at 11 homes with PFOA and PFOS levels above the HAL.
- Post treatment samples collected to date have indicated that DEP installed/upgraded treatment systems are removing PFOA and PFOS contamination from the drinking water supplies to below the HAL.
- In February 2022, the DEP published notice of a proposed rule to set drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), under the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act.
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In anticipation of the finalization of the MCLs in early 2023, DEP expanded the eligibility criteria of the provision of alternative drinking water to homes that were previously sampled by DEP and found to have detections of greater than the proposed MCLs of 14 ppt for PFOA or 18 ppt for PFOS.
- As of December 2022, DEP has determined that 22 additional homes were eligible to receive bottled water until whole house treatment systems can be installed.
- Easton Rd Residential Well Results Map (2016 - 2022) (PDF)
Site Investigation
- DEP is investigating groundwater, soil, and surface water in the area to determine the nature and extent of PFAS in the environment.
- A
2018 Site Investigation Report (PDF) was prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. on behalf of DEP, and documents activities conducted from 2016 through 2018. Activities included:
- Drinking water sampling from residential and commercial properties
- Geophysical investigation
- Installation of groundwater monitoring wells at multiple depths, and
- One round of groundwater sampling from the monitoring wells.
- In November 2019, DEP collected soil, surface water, and groundwater samples from the Arbonite facility located at 3826 Old Easton Road in Buckingham Township. Based on initial results, DEP determined additional sampling and investigation is needed.
- Through the course of the investigation DEP has collected 24 surface water samples from locations along Pine Run and its tributaries. Results revealed no exceedances of the HAL.
- DEP performed sampling of monitoring wells across the Site in October 2021. Those results can be found here:
- In January 2022, Tetra Tech, Inc. performed a Fracture Trace Analysis on behalf of DEP to better understand regional and Site-specific geology and likely groundwater flow direction.
- A Site Investigation Addendum (PDF) was prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. on behalf of DEP to document Site investigation activities between 2018-2022.
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DEP is looking into all potentially responsible parties. If you have any information related to any potential sources of PFAS contamination, please feel free to provide that information to DEP using the contact information provided below.
Timeline (December 2022)
= Completed Steps,
= Current Step,
= Next Steps
|
| Public Water Supply Well detected PFOA and PFOS above HAL | 5/2016 |
|
| Drinking water sampling | 6/2016-Ongoing |
|
| Installation of Site Monitoring Wells | 4/2018 |
|
| Sampling of Monitoring Wells | 4/2018-Ongoing |
|
| Completion of preliminary Site Investigation Report | 8/2018 |
|
| Interim Response Proposal | 10/19/2019 |
|
| Sampling at Arbonite property | 11/2019 |
|
| Public Hearing | 11/18/2019 |
|
| Issuance of the Statement of Decision (SOD) and Response to Public Comments | 4/1/2020 |
|
| Installation and maintenance of Whole-House Filtration Systems | 9/2020-Ongoing |
|
| Completion of Fracture Trace Analysis | 1/24/2022 |
|
| Site Investigation Report Addendum | December 2022 |
Community Updates
To subscribe to updates, please send an email to: RA-EP-SEROECB@pa.gov. Please indicate in the subject line or text of the email that you’d like to receive updates related to the Easton Road PFC Site.
Contacting DEP
Please direct correspondence or inquiries to one of the following:
Site Information: Wayne Harms, Site Project Officer, at 484-250-5730 or
wharms@pa.gov
Community and Media Relations: email:
RA-EPNEWS@pa.gov
Legislative Inquiries: Rob Fogel, Local Government Liaison, at 484-250-5817 or
rofogel@pa.gov
To schedule an appointment to review files associated with this Site and project, please call the Norristown Office at 484-250-5910.
Municipality Information