NORRISTOWN – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has ordered Stoney Creek Technologies, LLC, a specialty chemical manufacturing company located at 3300 West 4th St., Trainer Borough, Delaware County, to cease operations.
The company, which manufactures corrosion inhibitors, fuel additives and oil additives, has a history of non-compliance and appears to be without adequate resources to operate safely, according to DEP Southeast Regional Office Director Joseph A. Feola.
“This company is in serious trouble and DEP is taking action to ensure public safety,” Feola said. “We have suspended their operating permits, and we’ll work with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Stoney Creek staff to safely process some of the remaining on-site chemical inventory, while removing the rest.”
An estimated 17 million pounds of chemicals are currently stored on the 15-acre site, which is adjacent to a residential community and major rail corridor near the Delaware River.
DEP has been working with the company to bring operations into compliance with environmental requirements, but the situation at the plant became critical this month when the electric company informed Stoney Creek that it would terminate service for non-payment of bills. Without power, the company’s safety systems cannot manage certain chemicals.
To ensure that the public is protected during an orderly closure of the facility, DEP will pay for continued electric service during the initial cleanup of the site, and provide staff for oversight of activities from its emergency response, environmental cleanup, air quality, waste and water management programs. This immediate response is being carried out through the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, which enables DEP to respond quickly to protect public health and safety as a result of air, soil and groundwater contamination or potential threat of such contamination.
The long-term safe closure of Stoney Creek Technologies will be managed by the EPA as an interim response through its Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act program, commonly known as Superfund. It is expected that experienced Stoney Creek staff will help identify and process the existing chemical inventory as part of the cleanup.
Both DEP and EPA are working with Delaware County Emergency Services and the Lower Chichester, Marcus Hook, Trainer Environmental Advisory Committee – as well as other local, state and federal officials – to keep the community informed as the closure and cleanup proceed.