EPA Considers the BoRit Site for Superfund List

On September 3rd, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the addition of the BoRit Asbestos Site, located by the Wissahickon Creek at the intersection of Whitpain Township, Upper Dublin Township and Ambler Borough, to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

This is the largest asbestos waste pile in the United States and it has never been properly dealt with. The site is hazardous to the health and environment of the communities living by it and needs to be listed on the NPL! The EPA needs to hear from you to insure that the site is listed. Please take a few minutes and submit a comment.

The national priorities list is a national list of sites where hazardous contaminants could impact public health and/or the environment. NPL sites undergo a thorough investigation to determine the full nature and extent of contamination. EPA or the parties responsible for the contamination then address whatever risks the sites pose to human health and the environment.

We are currently in the 60-day comment period, which ends November 3rd, so it is important that you make your comment soon. A final decision on listing the sites will be made after the EPA has evaluated and responded to all the public comments in writing. Nationwide, the EPA is proposing to add 11 sites to the Superfund list.

Take Action Now: Send a message to the EPA. Ask that the BoRit site be included on the superfund list.

Townships in Chester and Montgomery Counties Take Action to Protect their Water Resources

For the past two years, Clean Water Fund has been helping municipalities in the Schuylkill River Watershed to strengthen their water protection regulations. This work is based on our Model Municipal Water Resources Ordinance, which has provisions for stormwater management, wellhead protection, and much more. This is a pro-active planning approach to protect public health, property and our environment.

Recently, three municipalities in the Schuylkill watershed plus one in the Delaware watershed passed water protection ordinances with the help of Clean Water Fund and our partners Green Valleys Association, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Cahill Associates.

• Upper Pottsgrove, Montgomery County, passed a Riparian Corridor ordinance to better protect their streams and rivers.
• West Nantmeal, Chester County, passed a Comprehensive Stormwater Management ordinance.
• North Coventry, Chester County, passed Wellhead Protection and Water Resource Protection ordinances.
• Wallace Township, Chester County, passed Stormwater Management, Woodland Preservation and Conservation Standard ordinances.

Congratulations to all of these municipalities for protecting their water and natural resources!

To get your municipality involved, contact Will Reed at 215-545-0250. 

Want recycling? Demand it!

Clean Water Action is part of a coalition campaign to get better recycling in Philadelphia. Come join with us in calling for a recycling program that includes single stream (put everything in one bin), weekly curbside pickup for the entire city.

Mayor Nutter has endorsed our Five Point Agenda for Recycling in Philadelphia (pdf). We need your help to hold the Mayor to his promise and help get our neighborhoods organized!

Read our latest newsletter (pdf) to find out how you can get involved. For more information contact Anne Misak at 215-545-0250. Recycle NOW Philadelphia!

Sustainability in Philadelphia

Clean Water Action submitted a white paper to Mayor Nutter outlining our proposals to make Philadelphia a more healthy and sustainable city. Our suggestions include:

• Increasing regulations of hazardous air pollutants like exhaust from diesel vehicles and emissions from industrial facilities
• Improving stormwater management and reducing flooding and sewage backups in residents' homes by giving incentives for green roofs, porous pavement and rain barrels and restructuring stormwater fees
• Reducing residents' exposure to pesticides by developing a city-wide Integrated Pest Management policy
• Notifying river users when raw sewage has entered the water by posting red flags along the Schuylkill and the Delaware rivers
• Creating public greenways, including a protected, vegetated corridor of at least 150 ft, on either side of all Philadelphia Rivers
• Encouraging Philadelphians to bicycle-commute to work by creating bicycle-friendly policies that address road access, safety and bicycle parking

We look forward to working with the Mayor and the future Sustainability Coordinator for the city to make Philadelphia a truly green and sustainable city.

What's In Your Air?

Concerned about a funny smell in your neighborhood? Think that a nearby factory is polluting your air or making your family sick? We can help you get real answers.

Clean Water Action has high-tech air monitors which give instant readings of selected toxics in the air. And we have low-tech bucket samplers which you can keep at your house to take air samples, too. To get more information about testing your air, call our office at 215-545-0250.

The Community/Labor Refinery Tracking Committee uses the Argos equipment to continue their work as watchdogs of the Sunoco Refinery in South and Southwest Philadelphia. The C/LRTC meets the second Tuesday of every month at Mercy Wellness Center in Eastwick, 2821 Island Ave, Room A, Philadelphia, PA 19142.

The Dangers of Pesticides

Bug sprays and other pesticides don't just hurt insects...they can harm people too, especially children. Health effects can range from headaches and nausea to nerve damage and cancer.

Clean Water Fund is educating people in South and Southwest Philadelphia about the dangers of household pesticide use. The presentation explains health effects from pesticides and promotes safer alternatives. If you live in South or Southwest Philadelphia and would like a presentation on safer alternatives to pesticides for your church, community group, school or healthcare provider, please call the Philadelphia office at 215-545-0250.

Delaware Deepening

Despite New Jersey Governor Corzine pulling back his opposition to the dredging of the Delaware River, the fight continues.

Environmental groups, including Clean Water Action, continue to oppose the dredge, arguing that it's too expensive, could damage aquifers under the river that provide drinking water to thousands of people, and that there's no safe way to dispose of the dredge spoils.

Get more information and take action to stop the dredge!