Meeting on Bishop Tube plan set for Wednesday

A public meeting has been set for Wednesday evening at the township over developer Brian O’Neill’s plans for 228 townhomes along the Malin Road property formerly known as Bishop Tube. He originally presented plans for nearly 300 homes, according to township officials. The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Great Valley Middle School, 255 North Phoenixville Pike in Malvern.

Officials plan to discuss the site with the state Department of Environmental Protection at a later meeting about the contaminated site. Residents, many of whom oppose development of the site and would rather it be preserved as open space, have formed an action group.

The group claims township and state officials have not been responsive to the needs of the community on the Bishop Tube development. Bishop Tube is a 13.7-acre site that was formerly used as a metal processing plant. Since the 1970s, the site has been abandoned and has not yet been remediated. Improper dumping of waste and use of chemicals during its previous operations has contaminated soils and groundwater with high levels of TCE (trichloroethylene), a probable human carcinogen.

East Whiteland supervisors have shown support for a partial remediation of the site prior to development of over 200 townhomes, as well as construction of an emergency access road through an adjacent neighborhood. The proposed development would cause the township to lose valuable woodlands, fail to ensure full remediation of toxins prior to development, allow ongoing TCE discharges for an undetermined period of time, and increase potential pollution of the designated Exceptional Value Little Valley Creek and associated wetlands.

People of the East Whiteland Township community have had growing concerns about plans for the site. A local community action group was formed to press for full remediation of the site at the expense of responsible parties, to oppose a $1 million dollar grant that would advance the partial remediation and development plan, and to urge the site be protected as natural open space for the benefit of the community.

In recognition of concerns the community has about the quality of information being given to the public, and the failure of town and state officials to hear community concerns and goals on the matter, the group has insisted they be given time on the meeting agenda. The Department of Environmental Protection is expected to attend the meeting and give its own presentation.