Status

September 2024 Quarterly Update

Residential Properties Remediation – Complete
Remediation and restoration activities are complete on all properties scheduled to be remediated under the Residential unit and EPA has issued its final approval of the remediation work. Sherwin-Williams will continue to monitor the restoration of vegetation in regulated areas as required under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) land use permit.

Route 561 Dump Site – Soils/Sediments Complete
Remediation and restoration activities are complete on all properties associated with the Route 561 Dump Site unit. Sherwin-Williams will continue to monitor the restoration of vegetation in regulated areas as required under the NJDEP land use permit. Groundwater associated with this unit will continue to be monitored. 

The United States Avenue Burn Site – Soils/Sediments Complete
Remediation and restoration activities are complete on all areas under the United States Avenue Burn Site unit. Sherwin-Williams will continue to monitor the restoration of vegetation in regulated areas as required under the NJDEP land use permit, as well as perform post-remediation groundwater and surface water monitoring. Monitoring efforts associated with this unit will continue for the next several years.

The Former Manufacturing Plant (FMP) Soils – Pre-Design / Remedial Design / Remedial Action
The EPA-issued Record of Decision (ROD) for the FMP unit outlines three distinct remedial approaches to address contaminated soils at the FMP, sediments in a portion of Hilliards Creek adjacent to the FMP, as well as an area of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) contamination located along the eastern side of the FMP.  

  • The FMP soils remediation has been divided into several subareas to allow for phasing of activities.  
    • Remediation of Lot 4 and the United States Avenue North parcel is complete.
    • Remediation is underway on the 6 East Clementon and Main Plant area. This is a large and complex project unit and construction is expected to continue into 2025.
    • Pre-Design Investigations (PDI) and Remedial Design for the United States Avenue South area continue.  Remediation of this area must be completed prior to dredging of Bridgewood and Kirkwood Lakes to allow for staging of dredging operations. 
    • PDI activities continue on FMP parcels located on the southern side of Foster Avenue, including 1 and 7 Foster Avenue.
  • PDI activities for sediments are progressing along Upper Hilliards Creek, which extends from Foster Avenue down to West Clementon Road in Gibbsboro.  
  • LNAPL located within and adjoining the eastern side of the FMP will be remediated using enhanced bioremediation along with soil vapor recovery. The team is continuing PDI and Remedial Design activities and is working with EPA to move this project unit forward. 

Waterbodies Unit – Pre-Design
Contaminated sediments and floodplain soils in Silver Lake, Bridgewood Lake, Kirkwood Lake and Hilliards Creek will be addressed in a phased approach.  

  • The PDI sampling efforts in Silver Lake are complete, and Sherwin-Williams is proceeding with Remedial Design activities. Lake dredging is expected to occur in 2025, following completion of the 6 East Clementon and FMP Main Plant soil remediation work.  
  • Pre-design investigations of Bridgewood Lake are ongoing. Once the PDI phase is complete, the team will move forward with Remedial Design. 

Under the EPA-approved remedy, remediation will occur on the upstream Silver and Bridgewood lakes, followed by the Hilliards Creek floodplain and Kirkwood Lake. 

  • Sherwin-Williams is working with Camden County to potentially accelerate the schedule for Kirkwood Lake. An update on this process can be found below. 

Former Manufacturing Plant Groundwater – Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study
Sherwin-Williams is finalizing the Remedial Investigation (RI) for the Groundwater unit and a Final RI Report will be submitted to EPA by October 4th. Sherwin-Williams will then proceed with the Feasibility Study (FS) to evaluate remedial alternatives for addressing groundwater contamination. The draft FS will be submitted to EPA in December 2024. EPA is expected to propose a groundwater remedy in 2025.

Additional Activities 

United States Avenue Sanitary Sewer Extension
Sherwin-Williams has completed the design of a sanitary sewer line extension along United States Avenue and Foster Avenue in Gibbsboro. Construction of the sewer line extension will occur once the appropriate permits and approvals are obtained by the Borough of Gibbsboro.

Potential Kirkwood Lake Accelerated Action
Sherwin-Williams has an agreement with Camden County to share the cost of evaluating remedial design options for potentially accelerating the dredging of Kirkwood Lake before or concurrently with the dredging of upstream areas of the Waterbodies unit. 

The team is evaluating the feasibility of remediating Kirkwood Lake prior to completing upstream areas while preventing recontamination of Kirkwood Lake, which is currently scheduled to be the last waterbody remediated under the EPA-approved remedy. The 90% remedial design was submitted to the USEPA and NJDEP in early July and the team is currently responding to comments. The project team expects to submit the permit equivalency applications to NJDEP by late September 2024.

No agreement or schedule is in place at this time for the actual dredging. Permitting and approvals may take a year or more before any dredging work can be performed.  This work is being performed in parallel with other sections of the Waterbodies unit, by a separate project team, to ensure that any accelerated action of Kirkwood Lake does not delay efforts on upstream waterbodies.