The state Department of Environmental Protection has identified and removed contaminants at a site near a proposed New Hanover quarry, discarding the volatile compounds that were pooled in a pit, a lawyer for the Silvi Group told New Hanover officials Nov. 3.

        According to Silvi Group attorney Stephen Harris, DEP cleaned up a pit filled with liquid and sludge at the site of the former Good Oil Property, a former oil distributor at 334 Layfield Road, and discarded the contaminants. He spoke of the cleanup efforts during a cross examination of hydrogeologist Toby Kessler of Gilmore & Associates, a witness for the township, at the Gibraltar Rock IV zoning hearing held Nov. 3.

        The site contains a downgradient groundwater contaminant plume that includes volatile organic compounds, semivolatile organic compounds, 1,4-dioxane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides, according to DEP.

        Harris said that the pit contained the same contaminants identified in the underground plume.

        Virginia Cain, a community relations coordinator for the DEP's Southeast Regional Office, confirmed the lawyer's statement. On July 13, the agency located a concrete pit at the site containing wastes from truck washing activities that had not been remediated, according to a Notice of Prompt Interim Response obtained from Cain.

        Subsequent sampling identified volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides and lead in the waste. Environmental officials also discovered volatile organic compound contamination in soil adjacent to the concrete pit, DEP said.

        "The actions at the site include removal, offsite disposal of the waste and the in-situ treatment and/or disposal of contaminated soils adjacent to the concrete pit," according to the state report.

        The prompt interim response was initiated in order to address risks associated with direct contact with waste in the concrete pit and to prevent exacerbation of the existing groundwater contamination. The department mobilized to removal the waste from the concrete pit for offsite disposal.

        The DEP will host a public hearing at Boyertown Jr. High East at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 to discuss the situation. Residents wishing to present comments must register with Cain in advance at 484-250-5808.

        During the hearing at the New Hanover municipal building, Harris pressed Kessler on his claims that the Silvi Group's proposed method to treat any contaminated water that migrates to the quarry pit are inadequate.

        In October, Kessler testified that the company failed to perform background quality sampling for contaminants in private wells near the proposed quarry. He also stated that the applicant failed to provide a fate and transport analysis to evaluate the possible migration of contaminants from the former Good Oil property into the proposed quarry areas.

        Last week, the lawyer pushed back against a suggestion that his client needed to monitor additional wells and conduct baseline water tests, arguing that the company would comply with DEP requirements included in the mining permit applications.

        Under cross examination, Kessler admitted to not knowing the specific location of 108 wells located in four quadrants near the proposed quarry.

        Harris also questioned the veracity of a chart created by the hydrogeologist tracking the potential flow of groundwater. Kessler called it a conceptual drawing.

        "It shows the possibility of what might happen," the witness said.

        The meeting is scheduled to resume on Jan. 5 with citizen testimony, according to Ed Skypala, New Hanover's zoning hearing solicitor.