P| ) m The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, March 30, 1994 3 Some say gas leaked years ago By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff ‘George Maculloch, owner of the ehman service station that is the suspected source of chemicals contaminating 17 Lehman wells, | is being blamed for a problem he may not have caused, his neigh- bors say. Since the fall of 1991, 17 Lehman Center families have coped with wells contaminated by MTBE, an octane-boosting gaso- line additive. Neighbors say that Maculloch, owner of the Lehman Sunoco station, has been blamed for something that isn't his fault. Since the contamination was discovered in August, 1991, Maculloch has supplied bottled water and special water filters to the affected families and the Lake- Lehman Middle Level Building at his own expense. -Bill Hagenbaugh, who lives on firehouse Road, said that when the gasoline contamination was first discovered, the Department of Environmental Resources (DER) blamed him. He once owned the gas station that is now Gunn's garage. When a neighbor complained to DER that her water smelled like gaso- line, they checked Gunn's because it was once a gas station. -Hagenbaugh said that he was @ resent when DER checked the underground tanks at Gunn's. “One was bone-dry and the other contained a small amount of .something that smelled like varnish,” he said. “The contami- ration couldn't have possibly come from there because that station only sold leaded gas. DER says that the contaminants are from unleaded gas.” Hagenbaugh said that DER made him drill a new well for the neighbor who had originally complained about her water. “I think that DER should reim- burse me,” he said. “It wasn't my fault.” “It was unfortunate for Mac- ulloch,” said Gil Tough, a Mill Street resident whose 450-foot deep well was contaminated. “l think that a prior owner should have known about it and replaced the leaking tanks before he sold it to Maculloch.” Tough spent $3,000 to install his own filtration system, which makes the water usable for clean- ing and bathing. “It isn't completely effective,” he said. “We still have to use bottled water for cooking. Mac- ulloch was paying for it, but now the government has taken over.” According to results of tests done several times a year, the contamination levels are dropping in his well, Tough said. His next-door neighbor, Mrs. Joe Ellsworth, said that her 364- foot deep well had been contami- nated, but has been all right for “quite some time.” “It was bad at the beginning, but now it’s safe to use,” she said. The contamination level of the well supplying the Lake-Lehman Middle Level Building has also dropped below the safe level, but the school is still using special water filters, according to princi- pal Robert Roberts. Originally the school had used bottled water, but that became too complicated, according to district business manager Ray Bowersox. “The Department of Environ- mental Resources (DER) has told us that the water is safe, but they won't put it in writing,” Roberts said. “Until they do, we're keeping our filters on all water fountains. The school's cafeteria uses fil- tered water for all food prepara- tion, Roberts said. Signs in all lavatories remind people not to drink water from the taps. Hagenbaugh's 300-foot deep well is also contaminated. His family relies on bottled water supplied first by Maculloch and now by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Hagenbaugh also blames the contamination on a prior owner of Lehman Sunoco. “Years ago my brother’ Ed and I liked to go to the swampy area behind the gas station to catch bugs for fish bait,” he said. “One day we noticed that the bugs were dying. We saw all kinds of oil cans and an oily slick on the water. Later it was covered over with dirt and clean fill.” He said the previous owner had had to replace the underground gas tanks because they leaked. The gas station sold unleaded gas at that time, he recalled. “It isn’t fair,” he said. “They're hanging Maculloch because he’s the present owner. I can’t see an innocent person persecuted. Don't hang a person until he's been proven guilty.” Despite several attempts to contact him, Maculloch was un- available for comment. *=PA takes over Lehman well cleanup By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff + Federal Superfund money has Been designated for a $1.9 million cleanup project in Lehman Cen- ter, where gasoline additives have contaminated 17 wells. 7 According to on-scene coordi- nator Rich Fetzer of the Environ- mental Protection Agency, the EPA is surveying the extent of the contamination and has provided bottled water and home well fil- tration systems for the affected Homes and the Lake-Lehman Middle Level Building. Until the EPA stepped in, George Maculloch, owner of the Lehman Sunoco station, had paid @0r the bottled water and filtration systems for the affected homes, and for two new wells drilled at Bryant's Trailer Park. * “He has been very conscien- tious,” Fetzer said. “Mr. Maculloch has consistently tried to do the right thing. Many people whom we deal with aren't this environ- Hienially conscientious.” ~ Benzene, a cancer-causing ol>0lne component, and MTBE, an octane-boosting gasoline ad- ditive, had been found in wells on Market Street, Outlet Road and Bryant's Trailer Park in August and September, 1991. “Fetzer and the supervisors have discussed three possible ways to Epldce the contaminated wells: DARLINGS GREENHOUSES Large Selection of Easter Flowers from °] 99 up “Easter Lilies « Hyacynths e Tulips Daffodils +. Colored Lilies « Chrysanthemums e Hydranges 2 1/2 mile off 309 on Hildebrant Road - 200 yds. north from Dallas Elementary School * Have the Army Crops of Engi- neers install a municipal water system for the affected families and the school. ¢ Provide individual treatment systems for each affected well. e Tie into an existing water system within five miles of Lehman Center, possibly Huntsville or Ceasetown reservoirs or the water line recently installed at the State Correctional Institution at Dal- las. Fetzer plans to report the find- ings of his study of the contami- nated area to the Lehman Town- ship supervisors at _their May Meshing Tf ps rer His final choice of the best option will be made after discus- sions with the supervisors, who have already gone on record that Lehman Township can't afford the first option, a municipal water system which the township would have to operate and maintain at its own expense. An EPA crew is presently sur- veying the extent of the contami- nation and plans to drill several monitoring wells as part of the study, Fetzer said. Although Superfund money is being used for the cleanup, Lehman Center has not been offi- cially designated as a Superfund site, according to Mark Carmon of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (DER). S\ “Superfund money is used for cleaning up chemical spills,” he said. “Since most of the contami- nation is from MTBE and not gasoline components, we're treat- ing this as a chemical spill. Lehman is not on Superfund’s national priorities list.” If more wells become contami- nated after the EPA finishes its work, the agency will return, Fet- zer said. POST PHOTO/GRACE R. DOVE GOOD-WILL AMBASSADORS — Receiving teddy bears for the “Teddy Bear Patrol” are Back Moun- tain Policemen’s Association members Jackson Townshi Township patrolman Brian Feeney, man Russ Devens, Kingston Towns Sergeant Dan Hunsinger. p assistant chief Jerry Leedock, Dallas VNA representative Mary Ellen Mosca, Dallas Borough patrol- hip patrolman Charles Rauschkolb and association president Teddy bears bring comfort By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff Back Mountain police officers have some new partners riding with them in their cruisers. They provide their own uni- forms and insurance, follow or- ders, don't carry weapons or take breaks and work for free. The Teddy Bear Patrol has come to the Back Mountain. Started elsewhere in the north- east in late1992, the Teddy Bear Patrol provides police officers with plush stuffed bears to give to children who are victims of acci- dents, fires, child abuse or do- mestic disputes, and to adult assault or domestic violence vic- tims, at the officers’ discretion. “For some reason it works,” said Kingston Township police chief James Balavage. “The bears bring comfort and security to vic- tims who are often extremely upset, helping them to open up “The (teddy) bears bring comfort and security to victims who are often extremely upset.” James Balavage Kingston Twp. police chief and talk with police officers about what has happened to them. These people are victims looking for comfort.” The bears are funded by Penn- sylvania Millers Insurance, which provided the initial $10,000 grant, and other organizations, includ- ing WBRE-TV and the Visiting Nurses’ Association/League for Home Health Services, whose members package and distribute them. Balavage said that Back Moun- tain Police Association president Dan Hunsinger, a sergeant in the Kingston police department, told him that he had given teddy bears to two victims last week. “One was a female rape victim and the other an abused child,” Balavage said. “Sergeant Hunsin- ger was surprised how quickly their hysteria was calmed down as they held the bears. It's like holding a security blanket.” Of the 20 West Side and Back Mountain police forces in the Back Mountain Police Association, half received their first issue of teddy bears March 10. Back Mountain police depart- ments are Dallas and Harveys Lake boroughs and Dallas, Jackson, Kingston and Lake town- ships, Balavage said. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers