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Brickhouse Environmental Adopt-A-Highway Clean Up

Brickhouse Cleans Up

In the fall of 2018, the employees of Brickhouse Environmental set out to Route 322, also known as the West Chester Bypass, to particiapte in the PennDot Adopt-A-Highway clean up program.  In the beginning, the 2 mile stretch of road was littered with bottles, cigarette butts, car parts and anything else you can think of. Staff report that the initial clean up was the longest, but over the past year via four clean up sessions, the stretch of highway has been kept fairly clean. In total, Brickhouse Environmental has cleaned up 125 bags of trash. Afterwards, staff enjoy lunch at Brothers Pizza. Overall, it has been a great experience.

What We Found

  • Mannequin arm
  • Plastic car parts
  • Old coke bottles
  • Scrap metal
  • College ID
  • Photograph
  • Lodge Sign
  • Animal skull
  • Cans from the 80’s
  • Cement mixer Planters

 

When asked their favorite memory of the cleanup, one employee said: “I think the ladder being found, added to the pile and picked up by someone for scrap. It’s always satisfying to see a cleaner highway, but to see items go to recycling from our efforts is even better.” -Doug Schott

Another staff member stated, “Our business is to provide consulting services for environmental clean ups.  It feels good to get out and clean up a section of the environment ourselves.”

Are you interested in learning more about the Adopt-A-Highway Program?  Recent improvements to the program have made it easier to participate!  A new website has been created to provide groups on-line access to the AAH program, which can be found here: https://adoptahighway.penndot.gov/.

Please enjoy these photos:

Winter is Coming

December and January are the busiest time of year for heating oil deliveries and, not surprisingly, the time of year for the most home heating oil spills. As a public service, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has published a handy Fact Sheet (Tips for Residential Tank Owners) with somewhat easy Self-Inspection Checklists for basement and backyard above-ground heating oil tanks, as well as underground tanks.   This publication provides information to help individuals deal with a heating oil release and any subsequent cleanup.

In this article, you will learn how to….

  • Prevent Fire, Explosion and Exposure
  • Stop or Contain the Release
  • Report the Release
  • Clean Up the Release
  • Environmental Cleanup
  • Help is Available

Take the time to inspect your tank and associated piping and fittings. Not comfortable with that? Have your heating oil delivery company do it. If you see minor drips, or corrosion of the tank legs, don’t put it off for later. It is important to catch tank issues before they become expensive problems.   We know, because we have assisted homeowners with oil tank spills and they’re usually not covered by Homeowner’s Insurance.

View this helpful video from the PADEP

Utilize the Underground Heating Oil Tank Cleanup Reimbursement Program offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  “The Underground Heating Oil Tank Cleanup Reimbursement Program provides funds to help with environmental cleanup costs due to releases of heating oil from underground tanks. This program is available to owners of underground heating oil tanks with a capacity of 3,000 gallons or less, used for heating onsite. In order to qualify for the program, the heating oil release must have occurred after January 30, 1998.”

So, inspect your tank – and have a happy, warm, and spill-free holiday season.

For  more  information,  please  contact  us

marketing@brickhouse-environmental.com

(610) 692-5770

Links:  From the DEP

Underground Heating Oil Tank Cleanup Reimbursement Program

 

When it Rains it Pours -Stormwater Management

BY ALFRED YATES P.E.

Stormwater Management is an important task for residential and commercial properties.  Homeowners Associations (HOA’s) and Businesses Park Property Owners Associations (POA’s) have been responsible for the perpetual inspection, operation and maintenance of stormwater management structures, and other common structures, for decades. In the past this may have consisted of a handful of relatively straightforward storm water detention basins – Sounds easy right? Local and state regulators now require the installation of a veritable smorgasbord of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP’s) to address stormwater quality and infiltration, in addition to peak flow attenuation.   The upkeep of these stormwater BMP’s can create a significant financial strain, if not properly managed and funded through ongoing association fees.  Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual.

HOA’s and POA’s typically have little, to no experience, in the operation of these complex stormwater management facilities.

Some of the more common issues that Brickhouse Environmental routinely addresses are:

  • Managing the transition of stormwater BMP’s from Developer to HOA and POA control;
  • Infiltration structures that don’t infiltrate stormwater (You had one job!);
  • Deteriorating culvert pipes and basin outlets;
  • Lack of a Reserve Study to establish funding for stormwater BMP’s maintenance;
  • Stabilizing severe scour at storm water discharge locations and adjacent stream banks;
  • Soggy yards and flooding of basements caused by both poor grading and inadequate drainage;
  • Providing Professional Engineering Expert Reports and litigation support to HOA’s; and
  • Compliance with ongoing stormwater inspection and reporting requirements.

Given these often-overlooked liabilities, HOA’s and businesses should budget for the routine inspection and maintenance of their storm water facilities through regularly updated Reserve Studies. This ensures that adequate funds are in place to address the predictable, periodic costs to repair and maintain these facilities.

Brickhouse Environmental’s experienced staff of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Scientists are able to quickly assess stormwater situations, provide stormwater management solutions and respond to our client’s needs. Whether it is preliminary site planning, layout and design of new stormwater facilities, rehabilitation of existing stormwater facilities, inspection, expert testimony for litigation support or determining ongoing maintenance responsibilities, our highly trained staff is able to guide our clients through the ever evolving and complicated field of stormwater management.

For  more  information,  please  contact  Al  Yates,  P. E.

ayates@brickhouse-environmental.com

(610) 692-5770

SRBC Grandfathered Water Use Registration Program

Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC)

Grandfathered facilities that fail to register will lose their exempt status and have to obtain a permit from the commission in order to continue to operate.

Program deadline is: December 31, 2019

Have you received a letter from the SRBC regarding your water use?
Do you have a groundwater withdrawal of 100,000 gallons of water per day or more initiated prior to July 13, 1978? *
OR
Do you have a surface water withdrawal of 100,000 gallons per day or more initiated prior to November 11, 1995?*
OR
Does your facility consume 20,000 gallons per day or more from surface water, groundwater, a combination thereof, or any other source (including a public water supply), initiated prior to January 23, 1971?*

Don’t miss the deadline and lose your grandfathered status.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will want to utilize the Grandfathered Water Use Registration Program provided by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.

NOTE Threshold volumes are expressed as consecutive 30–day averages. The facility’s volume is determined by totaling the actual daily withdrawal or consumptive use over the peak consecutive 30–day period, then dividing by 30.

 * if you initiated a withdrawal above these quantities after the listed dates, you should already have a permit.

Have Questions? Reach out to Brickhouse Environmental’s SRBC expert, Stephen Huxta

Shuxta@brickhouse-environmental.com

610-692-5770

Links:
Grandfathered Water Use Registration Program PDF 
srbc.net
Frequently Asked Questions
Factsheet on Grandfathered Water Uses Registration Program

How Clean is your Drinking Water? Find out in the Summer Newsletter

Contaminants Challenge our Drinking Water

Water is one of our most basic needs. Contaminants challenge our drinking water and something needs to be done about it.  Our existing water and wastewater infrastructure have done wonders in preventing outbreaks of water borne disease, but we continue to face challenges in ensuring the water we drink is safe for consumption. One of the major challenges currently being faced is “emerging contaminants” in our public water supplies. The uncertainty around what is and is not safe for consumption, water testing methodologies, and the absence of existing infrastructure to treat these contaminants is challenging local governments, water suppliers, and affected communities.

In prior news alerts, we have discussed the basics around one of the most headlining groups of emerging contaminants, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). water-resource-management PFOA and PFOS, the most common PFAS, have likely been present in public water supplies for many years, but they went undetected because PFAS were not on the lists of compounds to be tested for.  Once the problem was identified, more and more public water systems were found to be impacted and had to be shut down until they found alternative water supplies.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved quickly to establish a Health Advisory Limit of 70 parts per trillion (ppt).  While drinking water standards have historically been defined by the EPA and then later adopted by the states, many state regulators are not satisfied, and they have moved to take their own aggressive and unprecedented actions.  As examples, the NJDEP has already proposed the lowest standards in the country at 14 ppt for PFOA and 13 ppt for PFOS.  And Pennsylvania has established a task force which is tasked to develop standards of their own for PA. 

Pennsylvania has also proposed steps toward a solution in treating impacted water supplies through Governor Wolf’s “Restore Pennsylvania” plan. https://www.governor.pa.gov/restore-pennsylvania/ This plan is designed to address critical infrastructure needs across the state. Among other things, the plan will provide grants for installation of treatment systems for PFAS in drinking water for both public and private supplies. 

The proposed funding could help provide relief for impacted water supplies in areas where a source of the PFAS cannot be determined.  And enforcement is also being stepped-up to identify potentially responsible parties in places where the source can be identified.  So, is history preparing to repeat itself with regulatory liability allocations and natural resource damage assessments not seen since the heyday of environmental regulation development?  Time will tell.  In the meantime, Brickhouse scientists and engineers maintain the regulatory and technical edge to identify possible issues during due diligence and provide technical guidance for properties affected by these and other emerging contaminants.

June Newsletter -The Brickhouse Family is Growing!

Join us in Welcoming our New Employees!

Alexander Chipman

Alexander is a graduate from West Chester University with a degree in Geoscience Earth Systems. He comes to Brickhouse Environmental as a former warehouse worker. When Alex is not collecting soil samples or measuring the depth to water, you can find him rocking the Bass in a local band.  Check out the band’s Instagram account!

Celeste Takach

Celeste is currently enrolled at Bloomsburg University in the Environmental Biology program. She will spend her summer in the field, learning the ropes from our seasoned project scientists. When not in the field, Celeste likes to play soccer and binge watch The Office.

Molly Bowe

With a degree in Business Administration from Rosemont College, Molly comes to Brickhouse from another environmental consulting firm. She leans on her past sales and marketing experiences for her marketing role and is looking forward to bringing sustainability to the West Chester Office. When not at her desk, Molly can be found running on the Montgomery County trails with her four-legged running buddy, Meadow.

Check out Molly’s LinkedIn Profile