On Tuesday, May 5, at 6pm, a Public Information Meeting will be held at Frankford Friends Meetinghouse, 1500 Orthodox Street, Philadelphia, to inform the school community and neighborhood about Frankford Friends School’s proposed outdoor classroom to be developed on the vacant lot at 1515 Orthodox Street, and about the environmental assessment that has been conducted.
Pursuant to the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act, the act of May 19, 1995, P.L. 4, No. 1995-2, Frankford Friends School submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection a Notice of Intent to Remediate the site, intended to be used as an outdoor classroom that will include an urban garden using above-ground planting beds, along with a meadow, ornamental plants, shrubs, and trees. The City of Philadelphia has requested that Frankford Friends School develop and implement a public involvement plan for the site. The Site is currently vacant land that was previously occupied by a church for nearly 116 years. Site assessments have indicated that certain polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are potentially hazardous substances, are present in surface soil at the site.
An environmental risk assessment conducted by Duffield Associates, a local engineering firm, analyzed the exposure that users of the site will have to the contaminants, based on planned site improvements. The risk assessment found that beyond placing landscape fabric in the bottom of raised bed planters intended for food gardening, no special remediation will be necessary to protect the health of students, teachers, workers, and others who will use the site.
The environmental scientist who conducted the soil testing and risk assessment will present her findings and answer questions from the public at the May 5th meeting. Documents explaining the project, the public involvement plan, and the environmental testing and analysis will be available for public review at the Frankford CDC at 4900 Griscom St, Philadelphia, PA 19124, between the hours of 9:30am and 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.
Written comments about the project from the public will be accepted before and during the public information meeting.
Please direct written comments, or any questions about the project or the public meeting, to Amy Silver O’Leary, Director of Development and Communications, Frankford Friends School, development@frankfordfriendsschool.org or 215-533-5368 x120.
