EPA to Host Conference Call on Proposed Addition of Bear Creek Sediments Site to Superfund National Priorities List

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 7, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a conference call on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 6:00 p.m., to provide an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the recently proposed listing of the Bear Creek Sediments site in Baltimore County, Maryland, to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is EPA’s list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for investigation and potential cleanup financed under the federal Superfund program.

The public can join the conference call by dialing (484) 352-3221 and entering the code: 260248246#. Questions can be submitted in advance by emailing them to: trakis.lisa@epa.gov.

Prior to the conference call, it is recommended that callers watch a recorded presentation about the proposal, which can viewed at: www.epa.gov/superfund/bearcreek. (Video link middle of the page).

When EPA proposes to add a site to the NPL, the Agency publishes the proposed rule in the Federal Register and notifies the public through the local media so interested members of the community can comment on the proposal.

During the 60-day comment period from Sept. 9 – Nov. 8, the public can comment on the listing of the Bear Creek Sediments Site. EPA will consider those comments in the final decision to list the site on the NPL.

Comments can be submitted in one of two ways:

Online: http://www.regulations.gov

Search for “EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0458”

Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

EPA Docket Center 

       Docket # EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0458

Mailcode 28221T 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 

   Washington, DC 20460  

Once EPA reviews the public comments, EPA will make a final determination on whether the site should be placed on the NPL and publish a final rule in the Federal Register. If the listing is finalized, EPA will conduct a comprehensive investigation called a Remedial Investigation to determine the nature and extent of contamination and then examine potential remedies.

The Bear Creek Sediments site consists of a minimum of 60 acres of contaminated sediments in the waters of Bear Creek, near its confluence with the Patapsco River along the northwestern shore of the Sparrows Point peninsula, six miles southeast of downtown Baltimore.

The Bear Creek sediments are adjacent to the 3,100-acre Sparrows Point Peninsula, which was the site of steelmaking and shipbuilding industries. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was the primary owner and operator for much of the Sparrows Point operational history between 1887 and 2013.

Sediments in Bear Creek were contaminated primarily by the migration of hazardous substances from the steel making process and the effluent discharges from process wastewater and stormwater. The Bear Creek Sediment Site proposed listing to the National Priorities List is only for sediments in Bear Creek. The Sparrows Point peninsula is being addressed by other Federal and State cleanup programs.

More information on the public comment process of listing sites can be found here.