Feds Expand Superfund Cleanup Of Passaic River In New Jersey

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A long-running effort to clean up one of New Jersey’s most notorious Superfund sites just got bigger, federal authorities say.

On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that a $1.38 billion cleanup effort of the Passaic River is expanding to include nine additional miles of the Lower Passaic River Study Area of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site.

An EPA official said the price tag of the expanded cleanup, estimated at $441 million, will be paid for by the private companies that are legally responsible for the pollution. Over decades of industrial activity, pesticides and herbicides manufactured along the river banks and at the Diamond Akali facility polluted the waterway with cancer-causing dioxin, PCBs, mercury, copper, lead, pesticides and dozens of other chemicals and heavy metals, NJBiz reported.

The Diamond Alkali Superfund site includes the former manufacturing facility at 80-120 Lister Avenue in Newark, the Lower Passaic River Study Area (a 17-mile tidal stretch of the river from Dundee Dam to Newark Bay and tributaries), and the Newark Bay Study Area (Newark Bay and portions of the Hackensack River, Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull). The area surrounding the site is densely populated and heavily industrialized.

Read the EPA’s record of decision here.

The new affected area encompasses towns in Essex, Bergen and Passaic counties, including Nutley and Belleville, NorthJersey.com reported.

According to the EPA:

“The lower 17 miles of the Passaic River is a study area of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site. While the greatest volume of contaminated sediment lies in the lower 8.3 miles of this 17-mile stretch, contamination in the upper nine miles acts as a continuing source of contamination in the river, affecting fish, wildlife and communities along the riverbanks. The EPA’s plan calls for the removal or isolation under a cap of the contamination sources, with the goal that the work is done at the same time as work already planned for the lower 8.3 miles of the river.”

Federal officials said Monday’s action is interim, meaning that while the plan calls for actions to begin now, once the interim action is completed, the EPA could decide that additional work is needed to address any remaining contamination in this portion of the river.

The finalized interim plan calls for:

• Capping and dredging of approximately 387,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment that would otherwise have not been addressed until years later when all of EPA’s final study work is completed.
• Capping source areas of contamination. Prior to capping, sediment will be dredged to a depth to accommodate the cap so that the potential for flooding is not increased.
• Additional capping and dredging in areas with the potential for erosion and high concentrations of contaminants in the subsurface.
• Evaluating areas where sediments can be dredged so that capping would not be needed.
• Processing dredged materials at one or more nearby sediment processing facilities possibly already being used for work further downstream before material is taken off-site for disposal at licensed disposal facilities.
• Restricting activities in the river to protect the cap, and the continuation of New Jersey’s existing prohibitions on fish and crab consumption.
• Monitoring and maintaining the cap to ensure its stability and integrity in the long term.

The EPA often divides cleanup activities at complex sites into different areas or operable units (OUs): The Diamond Alkali Superfund site is currently organized into four OUs.

• OU1 is the location of the former Diamond Alkali pesticide manufacturing plant at 80-120 Lister Avenue, for which an interim remedy for containment was completed in 2001.
• OU2 is the lower 8.3 miles of the Lower Passaic River, from Newark Bay to river mile 8.3, for which EPA selected a remedy in 2016. The estimated $1.38 billion cleanup plan is currently in remedial design under EPA oversight.
• OU3 is the Newark Bay Study Area. EPA is currently overseeing an in-depth investigation of the bay, including the nature and extent of the contamination and the potential risks to human health and the environment from exposure to this contamination, and an evaluation of technologies and alternatives in order to determine how best to clean it up over the long term.
• OU4 is the 17-mile Lower Passaic River Study Area which includes both the lower 8.3 miles of the River and the upper nine miles. This Record of Decision covers the upper nine miles of OU4 in the Lower Passaic River Study Area and is an interim action. A final remedy for the full 17-mile study area will be proposed and selected in the future.

The EPA made Monday’s announcement at a news conference that was attended by several elected officials (story continues below).

“The work we are doing under this plan will provide job opportunities for local residents and it means that the days of continuing contamination in the Passaic River are numbered,” EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing this river transformed into a sustainable asset in communities that have been overburdened by pollution for far too long,” McCabe added.

Sen. Robert Menendez said “it’s been a long road” since the EPA first added the Lower Passaic River to the Superfund National Priorities List, but that Monday’s announcement is a milestone.

“We have no greater responsibility than the health and safety of the community and no greater duty than keeping our air and water safe and clean for future generations,” Menendez said.

Sen. Booker also praised the latest development for the Passaic River cleanup.

“For decades, the Passaic River has remained one of the most contaminated stretches of water in our nation because corporate polluters dumped toxic waste that severely damaged the local ecology of the site and threatened the health of families in surrounding communities,” Booker said.

“As this urgently needed cleanup effort begins, it’s vital that we restore the health of the entire Passaic River – that means keeping polluters accountable until the river is completely clean and restored,” Booker said.

Other officials who gave statements of support included:

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. – “Today is another major milestone in our too long quest to restore this precious natural resource. Deadly dioxin, PCBs, mercury and other harmful chemicals have quietly spread and ravaged our precious Passaic River. This contaminated sediment has cast a long shadow, causing long-term health problems, birth defects and cancer in some of New Jersey’s poorest communities … Though it hasn’t always been smooth, the EPA has focused hard on cleaning up this contamination in what is the most complex Superfund site in the nation. We must always move forward to address the massive threat to people’s health and our environment on behalf of revitalizing our Passaic River.”

Rep. Albio Sires – “It’s beyond time the next phase of cleanup for the Diamond Alkali Superfund site begin. With the local support of impacted communities, as well as state and federal stakeholders, this project demonstrates the EPA’s commitment to the underserved communities along the Lower Passaic River.”

Rep. Mikie Sherrill – “New Jersey is the state with the most Superfund sites in the nation. Remediation is essential to the health and well-being of our communities. Today’s announcement of an interim plan to address contamination throughout the Lower Passaic River Study Area of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site is a promising step in those ongoing efforts.”

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette – “The State of New Jersey proudly supports this remedy, which will remove decades of contamination that have polluted Passaic River sediments, helping to restore the natural resources that have been impaired for too long. With our joint state and federal commitment to this cleanup, we will better protect the environment and public health as we enrich the communities throughout the Passaic River watershed.”

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