Pennsylvania DEP Begins Cleanup of Former Landfill Site in Erie County

MEADVILLE, Pa., March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Environmental Protection this week began remediation work at a former Currie Landfill site in Millcreek Township, Erie County.

Household and industrial waste that was disposed at the former landfill, some of which has settled in nearby Cascade Creek, will be consolidated and capped underground. The project will restore and re-vegetate 600 feet of the creek, improving water quality and restoring lost habitat to the watershed that was contaminated by the waste.

"This once blighted property will soon be restored for the community to use again," DEP Northwest Regional Director Kelly Burch said. "Protection of the Presque Isle Bay watershed is vitally important for the Erie community and local groups have leveraged more than $870,000 in federal funds over the last two years to rehabilitate Cascade Creek, which runs through Frontier Park and into the Bay. This project supports those efforts and helps to improve the health of the watershed and protect the Bay."

The project will restore the property to the point of commercial and public use. Once the site is fully restored, four acres will be available for light industrial activity. Another 11 acres will be available as recreational use.

Currie Landfill operated as a dump through 1966. Heavy metals and volatile organic compounds from waste disposed of at the site contaminated soil and groundwater.

The $4.1 million cleanup contract was awarded after a competitive bidding process to Berner Construction Inc. of Lancaster County. Remediation work is expected to be complete by June 2013. The project is funded out of the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund, which is funded by a portion of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax.

For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 814-332-6945.

Media contact: Kevin Sunday, 717-787-1323

Source:  Department of Environmental Protection Northwest Regional Office

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection