The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Arxada, LLC have reached a settlement in U.S. District Court to recover the costs of the DEP’s 2019-2020 cleanup of the former Pool Doctor-Beaver Alkali Products site in Rochester, Beaver County. Arxada has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle DEP’s claims that its predecessor, Lonza, Inc., arranged for the disposal of approximately 140 tons of hydantoin, a hazardous substance, at the site under the guise of a sale.

“This investigation and subsequent cleanup led by DEP exemplifies our commitment to getting things done for the citizens of Pennsylvania and holding polluters accountable,” said Jessica Shirley, acting secretary of DEP. “I applaud the dedicated staff who worked tirelessly to not only clean up an environmental, health and safety hazard, but also followed every lead to ensure those who profited from this recklessness are held accountable.”

DEP began remediation of the site in 2019, removing hazardous chemicals that had been improperly stored and disposed of inside and outside the site’s buildings. DEP completed its on-site actions in June 2020. To expedite the removal of the potentially hazardous chemicals, DEP pursued remediation under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA).

When DEP began cleanup, the site contained hundreds of drums and containers of unknown liquids and solids that had been improperly stored and disposed of in dilapidated buildings. These materials were associated with chemical companies and a laboratory that operated in the on-site buildings. This site was not a DEP-regulated facility, but DEP responded when it became aware that the threat of a release of potentially hazardous substances into the environment posed a risk to public health and the environment.

During DEP’s response, additional hazardous chemicals were discovered, structural issues within the larger building on site, and costs for safety, testing, transportation, and disposal of the chemicals caused the total cost of remediation to exceed $2.4 million. During the response, it became clear that companies and individuals were using the site as an illegal dumping site, and DEP launched an investigation to hold those companies accountable. When DEP concluded its response in June 2020, it vowed to pursue those responsible for cost recovery. To meet that commitment, DEP filed a federal lawsuit against five defendants—including Arxada—in May 2023 seeking cost recovery. While this settlement would resolve DEP’s claims against Arxada, DEP’s ongoing cost recovery proceedings against the other four defendants accused of playing a role in the improper disposal of chemicals at the site will continue.