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Brickhouse Environmental

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Spring Cleaning!

The Brickhouse Environmental team took to the streets once again for some serious spring cleaning along the shoulders of the Route 322 West Chester Bypass. Over 30 bags of litter and other debris were collected on this rainy day in May. This is the beginning of our fourth year in the PennDOT Adopt-a-Highway program, as we renewed our commitment to the program for at least the next two years. For those of you familiar with the bypass, it sees a lot of traffic and, unfortunately, a lot of litter. It’s extremely satisfying to see the positive impact of our efforts as we share in this statewide effort to keep our highways and roads clean.  

Next time you’re on the bypass, look for the Brickhouse Environmental sign, and remember to keep our roads and highways clean! 

Brickhouse Supports Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament

Brickhouse Environmental was a Bronze Sponsor of the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on  May 5, 2022  at Baywoods Greens in Long Neck, DE. This tournament supports the John P. “Pat” Healy Scholarship program, which offers a renewable scholarship to Delaware students who study environmental engineering or environmental science at a Delaware college or university.

Providing Safe Drinking Water as Gold Sponsor of Lifetime Wells International 5K

Brickhouse Environmental proudly sponsored the Lifetime Wells International 1st Annual “Pump It Up” 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, May 14, 2022 at Ridley Creek State Park.

 Lifetime Wells International is a Delaware County, PA nonprofit that has been providing safe drinking water to communities in Ghana and Tanzania for 16 years. During that time, over 2,750 water wells have been provided free of charge to the people we serve. 

Several Brickhouse employees participated in the event, raising much needed support and continuing Brickhouse’s longstanding partnership with Lifetime Wells International.

Brickhouse Sponsors CII Council Annual Meeting

Brickhouse Environmental was a proud sponsor of the 2022 Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon of the Chester County Commercial Industrial Investment Council (“CII Council”) held on Thursday, April 28th at Waynesborough Country Club. The Chester County Commercial Industrial Investment Council (CII Council) is a membership organization for professionals involved in commercial and industrial real estate in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The group is not-for-profit and works closely with the Chester County Economic Development Council.

Act 2 Updates: Does Your Act 2 Site Still Require Post-Remedial Activity and Use Limitations?

The November 20, 2021 changes to Act 2 Statewide Health Standards (SHS) have created some beneficial opportunities for some previously remediated properties that still have post-remedial inspections, reporting, and Activity and Use Limitations (AULs).

For example, in the last 6 months: 

  • We helped one client remove the existing requirement for an asphalt cap, allowing unrestricted non-residential use of the property and a much less costly redevelopment project; and
  • Another client gained approval for unrestricted residential use of their property where groundwater use would have previously been prohibited, significantly improving their property value for re-sale.

Specifically for these properties, the changes in the 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene standards in groundwater and the benzo(a)pyrene standards in soil allowed us to remove burdensome property use limitations and engineering controls.

Example No. 1

A gas station with petroleum releases to the soil was previously closed out under Act 2 using a Site Specific Standard due to benzo(a)pyrene concentrations above the Statewide Health Standard.

Therefore, the soils required a protective cap and annual inspections and reporting.

However, after the standard was raised from 0.58 to 4.2 mg/kg, the soil no longer exceeded the Statewide Health Standards, so we were able to remove the requirement for a protective cap and related post-remedial care obligations.

The removal of the cap and reporting requirements increased the redevelopment opportunities for the site and also improved the property value.

Example No. 2

A heating oil spill impacted soil and groundwater of a neighboring residential property.  Under a PADEP-approved Cleanup Plan, soils were excavated and replaced, and groundwater monitoring wells were installed.  Five years later, the homeowners still couldn’t sell their property because 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene concentrations still exceeded residential Statewide Health Standards in the groundwater.  

In November, the Statewide Health Standard increased from 15 parts per billion (ppb) to 130 ppb, thus allowing the cleanup and monitoring to be ceased, and an Act 2 release of cleanup liability was issued by the PADEP, with no restrictions.  The change in standard immediately increased the property’s value and ability to be sold. 

The Bottom Line

In certain situations where sites previously received Act 2 cleanup approvals through the use of engineering controls and/or Activity and Use Limitations on the property, there may now be opportunities to remove these burdensome obligations and ultimately improve the future use and value of the property. 

If your property was previously remediated but still has ongoing maintenance, monitoring and/or reporting obligations, Brickhouse Environmental would be glad to review your reports and advise whether these benefits may be available for your property.