The Pittsburgh-based environmental group, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, issued a formal notice of intent to sue on Wednesday to affiliates of Sunoco and BP, as well as other entities, claiming that they continue to pollute the Allegheny River with oil and tar. The group is being represented by Appalachian Mountain Advocates.
Captain Evan Clark of the Waterkeeper group monitors Pittsburgh-area rivers by boat. Along the Allegheny, he has often noticed an oily sheen in the water and tar deposited on the shoreline near 57th Street in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
“There’s been a constant seep of oil coming out of that section of river bank, and a really strong petrochemical smell,” he said.
The group alleges that petrochemicals are routinely discharged from multiple sources on the 50-acre site along the riverfront, which it calls a violation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law.
According to Waterkeeper, in the past, a petroleum refinery and other industries were located on the site, and 35,000 gallons of gasoline were spilled.
Now, a petroleum storage and distribution terminal, a cold storage warehouse and a parking lot occupy the site. The notice of intent to sue was sent to six entities that own property on the site, including affiliates of Sunoco and BP, and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Waterkeeper claims historic and current uses have contaminated the site.
According to the group, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has observed water pollution in this part of the river since at least 1993.
“This is an ongoing enforcement action and settlement negotiation, and DEP cannot comment further at this time,” said agency spokesperson Neil Shader in an email. “DEP has no comment on the NOI [notice of intent to sue] from [Three] Rivers Waterkeeper.”
The group complained to Evergreen in 2023, according to Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper. Soon after, the Sunoco affiliate, Evergreen Resources Group LLC, had booms in the river upgraded to improve oil containment at the site.
But Captain Clark continues to notice and document pollution in the water.
“Most times I visit the site, I see oil leaking past those booms or the booms washed on shore,” he said.
In an email, Evergreen manager Susan Shirer said the company does not comment on pending legal matters.
Regarding the tar deposits, the Three Rivers Waterkeeper claims Remediation Management Services Company (RMSC) and Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), both affiliates of BP Products North America, have already acknowledged responsibility.
Clark is disturbed that people are coming into contact with the pollution.
“Folks from the neighborhood going down there to enjoy being by the river, but sitting on these big globs of tar, fishing from them, their kids wading around,” he said.
There is precedent for preventing a similar pollution problem at the Marcus Hook refinery on the Delaware River near Philadelphia.
“The [EPA] had stepped in there to require them to put in a permanent system to contain the oil that was seeping into the river,” Clark said. “We’re hoping to see some solution like that come out of this.”
If the landowners don’t resolve the issues within 60 days, Three Rivers Waterkeeper intends to move forward with legal action.
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