The Nanticoke Municipal Recreation Park site consists of several parcels located on Lower Broadway Street in the City of Nanticoke, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The City of Nanticoke took ownership of the parcels in the 1970s following severe flooding along the Susquehanna River associated with Hurricane Agnes. Since the 1990s and until recently, portions of the site were used as a youth soccer field and associated parking area. The site also includes a storage area used for the City's Department of Public Works. Prior to the 1970s, the site included landfill and scrap/junk yard operations. Soil sampling conducted in 2011 and 2012 by a consultant for the City as part of a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment identified elevated levels of metals (including lead and arsenic), polychlorinated biphenyls (also known as PCBs) and several semi-volatile organic compounds on the soccer field and surrounding area. As a result, the City closed the soccer field. However, the park remains accessible to the public and there is interest in reopening the field.
Based on EPA’s review of the City's sampling results and observations made during a "windshield" inspection on August 5, 2013, EPA believes that further evaluation is warranted to determine whether contamination is posing a threat to public health or the environment.
On August 27, 2013 EPA requested the City's permission to enter the property to conduct a removal site evaluation to identify the extent of contamination on the soccer field and surrounding area. The City subsequently contacted EPA and indicated that they plan to conduct an assessment and, potentially, other response activities as part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Voluntary Cleanup Program under the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2). The City has since submitted a Notice of Intent to Remediate under Act 2. Accordingly, EPA has withdrawn is request for access to conduct a removal site evaluation. No further action by EPA is anticipated at this time.
