The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Bracalente Manufacturing Group each released information about the results of tests they reviewed of water from a ditch in Trumbauersville that drew concern from residents due to an oily substance on the surface.
The machining company announced Wednesday night on a Facebook page for Creamery Acres, the name of the property owned by Bracalente in Trumbauersville, that it had sent a water sample from the ditch on Main Street to an independent, accredited company to test for volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. Ten compounds were identified, including benz(a)anthracene and benzo(b)fluoranthene, the company wrote, which can be found in coal tar and car exhaust.
While Bracalente did not provide the full testing report, the company's social media post provided the first details on water samples taken after residents reported an oily substance floating in a ditch on Main Street, around the corner from the machining facility.
Trumbauersville Borough has declined to release the results of its own, separate testing to both the borough's mayor and a resident who submitted a Right-to-Know request, citing an ongoing investigation by the DEP. A borough official said this week that the DEP, which reviewed the borough’s test results, told them the substance in the ditch poses no threat to drinking water.
DEP said on Thursday that the ditch water isn’t for drinking and therefore isn’t subject to drinking water standards. The agency reviewed the results of the borough’s water test, which showed “trace” VOCs and semi-VOCs, as well as PFOS and PFOA at 4.32 and 3.51 parts per trillion. DEP also indicated that the borough is leading the investigation into the source of the oily-looking surface water.
Bracalente has asked its manufacturers whether the two compounds it identified in the post are present in their "most common high-use chemicals," and so far the manufacturers have said they are not, the company wrote, adding that the two toxins could be coming from roof shingles or asphalt. The test results for those two toxins exceeded health standards, but a different type of test is needed to confirm that finding, the company said.
The machining manufacturer did not specify whether it had inquired with business partners about the other eight compounds identified.
The company also wrote that none of the manufacturers it heard from listed PFAS as "common high-use chemicals" in their products. It’s unclear from the post whether Bracalente mentioned PFAS because it’s among the 10 compounds identified, or not; the company did not list the other eight compounds that its testing identified.
Bracalente noted on social media that oily sheen could also come from naturally occurring bacteria. However, bacteria sheen tends to break up into smaller pieces when disturbed, according to various state environmental agencies. A video of the substance taken by a local resident earlier this year shows the film immediately re-form after a rock is dropped into it.
Oily-looking substance spotted in Trumbauersville ditch water
A local resident, Dan Marquardt, said he first became aware of the issue in February, when his wife sent him a video of a "very long oily slick" in the ditch. The borough manager, Dani McClanahan, quickly responded and got the borough council's approval for water testing, said Marquardt, who also sits on the zoning board, and thanked the borough for its "rapid response."
Marquardt added that he's been concerned what the lack of wildlife in the ditch suggests about the water. The ditch forms part of a culvert classified as a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System by PennDOT. Sewers of this type should only carry stormwater, according to the borough website. Frogs used to live in the stormwater years ago, residents said.
Trumbauersville Mayor James Black said this week that he asked to see the borough's test results over a week ago and received no response.
"The response was no," the borough's council president, Christopher Betz, wrote on social media. "The mayor has no more rights to information than the general public." The borough isn't releasing the test results because of the DEP investigation, Betz said.
There seems to be some confusion over who is leading the investigation. While borough officials have said DEP is doing it, DEP said Thursday that after reviewing the test results, “DEP directed the borough to continue its investigation to see if they could find the source of the sheen.”
Locals online and in interviews said the lack of transparency is concerning.
If there's no issue with the water, the borough "could just say that," Tracy Westfall wrote. "Refusing to respond just causes anxiety."
Jess Rohan can be reached at [email protected].