The final phase of the wetland restoration related to the Palmerton Zinc Pile Site is underway.

Andrew Hass, the new remedial project manager, Operable Unit 4, for the Palmerton Zinc pile Superfund site, met earlier this month with Lower Towamensing Township's board of supervisors to give an update on the project.Hass told supervisors the scope of the project is to grade the 7-acre wetland between the Aquashicola Creek and Blue Mountain to enhance the hydrology and plant native grasses, trees and shrubs to make it more of a natural habitat then it was before it was overrun by the invasive plant species phragmites.The initial remediation restoration work started back in 2011, and has been done in phases, Hass said. The final phase is the grading and planting, he said."Doing some touch-up of the grading, also constructing some erosion control measures," Hass said. "Later this summer and fall, they'll start planting some of the shrubs and trees; grass seed has already been thrown down."Hass said final planting will occur "after we see what gets established over winter and the next growing season. We'll do some touch-up planting next spring to fill in any type of bare areas of the wetland."Current site statusThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing the cleanup of the Palmerton Zinc Pile Site, which is being carried out by CBS Corporation, the responsible party.The site is divided into four separate cleanups, known as operable units.The revegetation of over 3,000 acres and the planting of over 13,000 trees on Blue Mountain (Operable Unit 1) was completed in September 2013.Operation and maintenance of the remedy for the Cinderbank (Operable Unit 2) is ongoing.The residential soil cleanups under Operable Unit 3 were completed in 2005.Operable Unit 4 addresses ground water, surface water, sitewide ecological risk and institutional controls.In fall 2014, work began to restore the wetland that was impacted during construction of the 2012 interim measure. Work then stopped in December 2014, due to poor working conditions caused by winter weather.The Palmerton Zinc Pile Site is the area of a former primary zinc smelting operation.The site encompasses the Borough of Palmerton and surrounding areas, Blue Mountain, a large smelting residue pile called the Cinder Bank, and much of the valley.