LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— The Biden-Harris Administration announced new funding to help the Environmental Protection Agency remove contamination from the Valmont TCE site in Luzerne County.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a third and final wave of more than $1 billion for cleanup projects at more than 100 Superfund sites across the country; one of these projects includes the Valmont TCE site in Hazle Township and West Hazleton.
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According to the EPA, the Valmont TCE site is a former upholstery manufacturer that used stain repellants containing harmful chemicals.
While using these chemicals, the EPA said a history of spills caused the site to be contaminated along with nearby residential water wells; however, residents using these wells were connected to the treated public water supply.
From 2011 to 2016, the EPA said they put short-term resolutions in place, but in 2021 they identified a longer-term solution.
With their announcement Tuesday, they said they will start thermal remediation to remove contamination from below the ground surface using heat. The chemicals will be collected as vapors and then destroyed.
Valmont TCE is one of four cleanup projects in Pennsylvania that will be started thanks to the new funding.
To see highlights from the first two years of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding at Superfund sites, visit EPA’s Cleaning Up Superfund Sites: Highlights of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding website.
