Response to Comments Provided by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Notice of Negotiations for a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement for the 201-213 N. Tatnall Site in Wilmington 2-27-17

Details: Written by Administrator; Category: Delaware; Published: 26 February 2017; Created: 26 February 2017; Last Updated: 30 April 2022; Hits: 3393

Gordon, Stephanie A. (DNREC) <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Feb 27

To

'Thomas Price'

CC

Ratsep, Timothy T. (DNREC)
Salahuddin, Qazi (DNREC)
LaSorte, Elizabeth (DNREC)

Mr. Price,

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the 201-213 N. Tatnall Street Site. DNREC’s overall Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) began in February 1995, however the referenced notice was for a VCP Agreement involving future cleanup activities at the 201-213 N. Tatnall Street Site. I have attached the VCP application that DNREC received on February 15, 2017, and it should now be in the file. As described in the notice, pursuant to 7 Del. C. ch. 91, Section 9107 (a) (1), DNREC is required to: ‘issue a public notice announcing the onset of negotiations concerning a Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) Agreement.’ Since DNREC just received the application Feb. 15^th, the first document in the file, outside from the VCP application is generally this notice. This Site was entered into DNREC’s Site Investigation and Restoration Section program on February 16, 2017, therefore, there is limited information, which is why DNREC needs to conduct an investigation.

As the notice indicates, there is no public comment; it is merely announcing the onset of negotiations to begin the process of a remedial investigation. It generally takes, at a minimum, a month or two before the VCP Agreement is fully-executed. DNREC’s statute requires several legal notices throughout the process, as described in 7 Del. C. ch. 91, Sec. 9107: http://delcode.delaware.gov/title7/c091/sc01/index.shtml and 7 Del. C. ch. 91, Subchapter II, Sec. 9126: http://delcode.delaware.gov/title7/c091/sc02/index.shtml. These various notices occur at different stages in the process.

Please let me know if you have further questions.

Sincerely,

Steph Gordon

Environmental Scientist

Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

Site Investigation and Restoration Section (SIRS)

391 Lukens Drive

New Castle, DE 19720

Phone: 302-395-2600

Fax: 302-395-2601

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

From : Thomas Price <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> 2-26-17

To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. CC: Ratsep Timothy T. (DNREC)

Dear Ms. Gordon:

Electronic Review for the Environment, Inc. has reviewed the electronic posting for the site on your website, the content of which is as follows:

    Pursuant to the June 2000 amendment to the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA), 7 Del. C. § 9107     (a)  (1), the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is required to issue a     public notice announcing the onset of negotiations concerning Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) Agreements,     as well as any voluntary settlement agreements requiring a remedy, between DNREC and potentially     responsible parties.

    The amendment states that DNREC must provide “public notification within 20 days after entering into     negotiations for a voluntary cleanup settlement agreement with any person that agrees to perform a remedy.”

    The Site Investigation and Restoration Section (SIRS), on behalf of DNREC, initiated the VCP in February     1995 in an effort to lessen the time and cost required in cleaning up contaminated sites by reducing litigation.     VCP Agreements are available, upon application to DNREC, to potentially responsible parties or prospective     purchasers who may be liable for the contamination of a property, but who wish to settle their liabilities with     DNREC under HSCA.

    DNREC is negotiating a VCP Agreement with Wilmington River Views LLC regarding the 201-213 N. Tatnall     Street Site (Site) located at the same address and 305 W. 2nd Street in Wilmington. The approximate 0.283     acre Site is identified on the maps of New Castle County as seven tax parcel numbers: 26-043.10-053, -054,     -055, -056, -057, -058 and -059. The Site may have had a release of hazardous substances as a result of past     industrial use at the Site. For Site-specific information, please see DNREC’s Environmental Navigator     at http://www.nav.dnrec.delaware.gov/DEN3.

    For additional information, please contact the project officer, Stephanie Gordon, at (302) 395-2600.

I have a question regarding this posting: 1) I find the wording confusing. It is unclear from the posting whether this has to do with a Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) Agreement involving future cleanup activities or whether it has to do with a previous cleanup activity and a settlement agreement. Which is it?

I reviewed the documents available for public viewing on your database. Only one is available for viewing and it is the Public Notice which was published in the newspaper. The notice explains that your department initiated the VCP agreement in 1995. That suggests that some cleanup has been completed since 1995 or has the site been inactive since then?

The notice also explained that "Site specific Information" is available in your database however it is not (am I overlooking something?). Following is a listing of available documents listed which only show the Public Notice which was published on 2-22-17 in the local newspaper as shown below:

Delaware Environmental Navigator » 201-213 N Tatnall St. » Documents

201-213 N Tatnall St.
Street address: 201-213 N Tatnall St., Wilmington, DE 19801 US, Facility type: Other

Documents

Document	Program	Document Date	Comments
MEDIA - 201-213 N TATNALL ST. DE-1645	SIRS	2017.02.22

I found it surprising that the newspaper "Legal Notice" appears to contain inaccurate information since no "Site specific Information" (besides the newspaper notice) is available in the database.

I would like to request that if any documents from 1995 to the present are available that they be uploaded to your database for public viewing. Alternatively if you could email them to me for review that would be helpful.

In addition, I would like to request that if additional site documents are available and uploaded for public viewing, that you extend the public comment period accordingly.

Sincerely yours,

ELECTRONIC REVIEW FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, INC.

By; Tom Price, Director

P.O. Box 2756

Berkeley, CA 94702

Providing Technical Comments for Environmental Projects During Public Comment Periods

Response to Comments Provided by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Notice of Negotiations for a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement for the 201-213 N. Tatnall Site in Wilmington 2-27-17

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