Veolia, a French company managing water and wastewater systems in 39 states, opened a $35 million charcoal-filter plant last week to remove PFAS from Red and White Clay Creeks in Chester County, writes Joseph N. DiStefano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The move is intended to meet Environmental Protection Agency rules that require the removal of these useful but hazardous chemicals from the nation’s water supply by 2029.
Veolia’s Stanton Water Treatment plant in Delaware is the largest facility of its kind in the northeastern United States. It has around 100 treatment vessels, each 22 feet tall and filled with 20 tons of salty powdered carbon.
Then, when the time comes for the trapped PFAS to be destroyed, the carbon will be burned offsite.
“We are trying to be the decontaminator-in-chief,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia’s chief executive.
The new plant protects water from the Red Clay and White Clay Creeks, which run from Kennett Square, Unionville, and West Grove and provide water for 100,000 residents and industries in Delaware.
The company hopes to double its utility operations in the U.S. over the next several years.
Read more about Veolia opening a plant to treat PFAS-contaminated water in these Chester County creeks in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
________
