EPA RCRA ID: PAD000427906
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Decision and Response to Comments on September 19, 2023 under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended (RCRA), for the former Philadelphia Coke Company, Inc. (PCCI) facility located in Philadelphia, PA. The Final Remedy for the Facility consists of capping residual soil contamination, installing vapor mitigation systems in the proposed building where necessary, implementing activity and use limitations for land and groundwater, and implementing a post-remedial care plan.
The Statement of Basis (SB) for the proposed remedy for the Facility was issued and advertised for public comment on August 10, 2023. The public notice was advertised in The Metro newspaper and the SB posted on the EPA website. A virtual public hearing on this proposed remedy was held on August 21, 2023. Comments on EPA’s proposed decision were submitted to EPA within the 30-day comment period ending September 9, 2023. EPA considered all comments consistent with applicable RCRA requirements and regulations and determined that the Final Remedy would remain as proposed in the SB.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Facility is located at 4501 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on a flat, 63-acre industrial site in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia. The property is bordered by Richmond, Orthodox, and Buckius Streets, as well as the Delaware River. The main portion of the property, north of the former railroad tracks, is entirely enclosed by a chain linked fence.
The Facility was operated by PCC from 1929 to 1982. The Facility had various operations including coke storage, coal storage, coke oven batteries, a rail line, a smoke stack, decanter tar bottoms, gas holders, a boiler house, a machine shop, fuel blending operations, and other structures. The Philadelphia Coke Company, Incorporated (PCC or facility) operated a gas manufacturing and coke production facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Since the Facility ceased operations in 1982, access to the property has been restricted by a perimeter fence of the main area. Highly contaminated soils were removed and appropriately disposed, while mildly contaminated soils were remediated with other remedial methods such as bioremediation. The facility was certified as closed in accordance with the closure plan in 1994.
The property was owned by the Koppers Company (Koppers), which held the controlling interest in a joint venture with Eastern Enterprises. In 1950, Eastern Enterprises split from Koppers (PCCI was a subsidiary of Eastern Enterprises). In November 2000, KeySpan Corporation acquired Eastern Enterprises. Subsequently, in February 2007, National Grid USA purchased KeySpan Corporation. The Facility was sold to BP Bridesburg, LLC on March 30, 2022.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contaminants of concern are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) detected in soil and groundwater as detailed in the Statement of Basis.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Currently there are no Institutional Controls (ICs) executed at the Facility. EPA has determined that Activity and Use Limitations (AULs) are necessary to supplement the measures described above and to protect the integrity of the proposed remedy. EPA’s AULs for the Facility consists of the following:
- The Facility property shall not be used for residential purposes unless it is demonstrated to EPA and PADEP that such use will not pose a threat to human health and/or the environment, or adversely affect or interfere with the Final Remedy, and EPA and PADEP provide written approval for such use;
- The groundwater at the Facility shall not be used for any purpose other than to conduct operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities required by EPA or PADEP, unless it is demonstrated to EPA and PADEP, that such use will not pose a threat to human health and/or the environment;
- No new wells will be installed on the Facility property unless it is demonstrated to EPA and PADEP that such wells are necessary to implement the Final Remedy and written approval is provided to install such wells;
- All earth moving activities, including excavation, drilling and construction activities, in the areas at the Facility where any contaminants remain in soils above EPA Region III’s Screening Levels for Industrial Soils or in groundwater above their MCLs or EPA Region III’s Tap Water RSLs, shall be conducted in accordance with the EPA-approved Post Remediation Care Plan, Health and Safety Plan, and Soil Management Plan; and
EPA’s preferred instrument to implement the AULs and ensure that the current and any future landowners comply with the restrictions is an Environmental Covenant prepared under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Environmental Covenants Act, 27 Pa. C.S. § 6501 et seq. (UECA). These restrictions may also be implemented via a permit or order.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.