The Bethlehem Steel name was synonymous with Pennsylvania’s industrial heritage and Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) is proud to have helped facilitate the redevelopment of a 57-acre portion of its Steelton Plant where a pipe mill operated.
This mill has been put back into operation and now employs 80 people and operates on two shifts because of a successful Act 2 remediation project. HRG was retained by CREDC on behalf of Dura-Bond Pipe, LLC, and the remediation work was conducted using an Industrial Sites Reuse Program Grant.
HRG began with an Act 2 Baseline Environmental Report (BER) and developed a remedy that was appropriate for this site, which resides within an economic enterprise zone; the site qualified for Act 2’s Special Industrial Area (SIA) designation and streamlined remediation process. For example, at an SIA site where there is no viable responsible party, ground water may be contaminated and it remains contaminated whether it contains an abandoned building or an operating factory. To return the site to productive use, remediation may be as simple as connecting the site to public water and paving any contaminated areas to eliminate direct worker exposure to contaminated water or soil.
Site constituents of concern included semi-volatile organic compounds, metals, and PCBs. HRG’s risk assessment showed that direct contact with environmental contamination was a complete exposure pathway and remediation was needed. A Cleanup Plan included waste consolidation and capping via asphalt paving, which coincidentally served as a capital improvement for the newly operational pipe mill.
