DEP Collects $500,000 In Penalties From DC Ambler Properties In Montgomery County For Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act Violations

On October 13, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it has reached a Settlement Agreement with DC Ambler Properties, LLC., who owns the Ambler Asbestos Piles Superfund Site, to pay $500,000 in stipulated penalties to resolve its liability for outstanding violations of a 2014 Consent Order and Agreement (COA). 

The owner agreed to pay the stipulated civil penalties if it failed to comply with any term of the COA.

The Ambler site in Montgomery County was formerly used as a disposal site for asbestos product manufacturing waste from the early 1930s until 1974. 

DC Ambler purchased the property in 2005 and imported a large quantity of regulated and non-regulated fill material in 2012. 

In 2014, DCAP was cited for improper erosion and sedimentation controls, damaging several hundred feet of fencing during backfilling operations, placement of thousands of tons of fill material on the site and an adjacent property, and installing monitoring wells through soil caps over former asbestos settling lagoons.

DC Ambler Properties failed to comply with the 2014 COA and a subsequent stipulation agreement in 2016, and was ordered by the Commonwealth Court to resolve the company’s outstanding obligations. 

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to protecting the rights and resources of Pennsylvanians,” said Secretary Rich Negrin. “Holding these companies accountable for their actions is a high priority of the Shapiro Administration.”

DEP published a Notice of the Proposed Settlement with DC Ambler Properties on July 8, 2023 in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and in the Ambler Gazette on July 9, 2023. DEP received no comments during the 60-day comment period. 

The agreement became effective on September 13, 2023 and DC Ambler Properties’ payment of stipulated penalties was satisfied on September 15, 2023. The money was distributed back into the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund. 

If the remaining corrective actions are not completed by December 31, 2023, DC Ambler shall pay DEP additional stipulated penalties in the amount of $50,000. 

The remaining corrective actions include removing the remaining fill material, restoring the fence, and submitting a final project summary report to DEP. 

Visit DEP’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup webpage to learn more about this program.

              For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter, sign up for DEP Connects events, sign up for DEP’s eNotice, visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

[Posted: October 13, 2023]  PA Environment Digest