boarhead farms

LONELY COTTAGE DRIVE

The Boarhead Farms site is located on approximately 120 acres at 1310 Lonely Cottage Road in Bridgeton Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1969, Mr. Manfred DeRewal, Sr. incorporated the Boarhead Corporation and purchased the two parcels that currently comprise the Site. Mr. DeRewal also oversaw operations at the Revere Chemical site, located about 4 miles from Boarhead Farms, from 1965 until 1969, when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ordered closure due to numerous pollution violations. In subsequent legal proceedings, Mr. DeRewal claimed that he moved 260,000 gallons of “liquid waste” from the Revere Chemical site to an unspecified location between July 17, 1970 and August 4, 1970. In the early 1970s, Pennsylvania State Police began receiving complaints of dead fish, dead plant life, and foaming in a stream adjacent to the Boarhead Farms site, allegedly due to acid dumped into the stream from tanker trucks. The Bucks County Department of Health reported a bulldozer at the Site burying drums during a subsequent investigation, in addition to observing pungent odors, empty tanker trucks, and approximately 40 drums containing unspecified solvents. Other inspections conducted in the early 1970s documented the improper storage of chemicals throughout the Boarhead Farms site, including leaks in 55-gallon drums, pools of chemicals along the access road, and uncontrolled wastes in containers. Known releases of chemicals from tanker trucks transported to the Site include 3,000 gallons of ferrous chloride in 1973, and 4,000 gallons of ammonia and 2,700 gallons of sulfuric acid in 1976. Other chemicals known to be brought to the Site by the Boarhead Corporation include copper ammonium sulfate, arsenic pentoxide, copper naphtholate, and unspecified solvents and pesticides. In October 1976, the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County issued an order to Mr. DeRewal and Boarhead Corporation requiring the removal of chemicals from the Site and prohibiting chemicals from entering in amounts greater than necessary for normal household use. In 1984, EPA began conducting multimedia sampling as part of Site Inspection and subsequent Hazard Ranking System (HRS) activities. The Site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) on March 31, 1989.