Contaminated Groundwater Cleanup Begins In Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A groundwater treatment facility will begin to be built to address the groundwater contamination at the American Cyanamid superfund site in Bridgewater, the township announced.

The design of the groundwater treatment facility was approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March 2017 and preliminary work has been underway since April.

Construction if scheduled to begin in June and be completed in the summer of 2018.

The groundwater cleanup is designed to capture contaminated groundwater and restore it to concentrations below state and federal standards according to the EPA.

The cleanup has three major design components:

1. The groundwater treatment facility
2. The groundwater extraction and injection system, which removed contaminated groundwater from the shallow and deep aquifers and injects it back into the deep aquifer following treatment
3. A hydrautic barrier wall, which will control the movement of groundwater from the site.

• See Related: Plans Being Shared on Cyanamid Remediation

History of the site via EPA:

The American Cyanamid Superfund Site is located in Bridgewater Township and was added to the National Priorities List in 1983 after contamination was found at the site. Prior owners used the 575-acre site for numerous chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations for more than 90 years, resulting in the contamination of waste disposal areas (referred to as impoundments), soil and groundwater with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-VOCs, and metals.

In 1998, EPA deleted a 140-acre portion of the 575-acre site from the National Priorities List, leaving 435 acres to be addressed. The 140 acre parcel of land, which primarily consisted of administrative and laboratory buildings, has been redeveloped for commercial use. All manufacturing at the site stopped in 1999, with most buildings demolished by 2000.

The 140-parcel was redeveloped and constructed into the now Bridgewater Promenade, which consists of a mix of retail, hotel and office space such as the Somerset Patriots Stadium, Target, Home Depot and Costco properties.

Wyeth Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc., acquired the site in 2009 and assumed responsibility for its cleanup, which will cost nearly $194 million. The long-term cleanup of the site is ongoing.

For more information on the site CLICK HERE.

Public Comment:

The EPA plans to hold a public information session in late 2017 or early 2018 to discuss progress on the groundwater and site-wide soil portions of the site cleanup and to provide any possible updates.

The EPA encourages public participation. For questions or more information on the site contact Melissa Dimas, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator at 212-637-3677 or dimas.melissa@epa.gov or Mark Schimdt, EPA Project Manage Groundwater treatment facility at schimdt.mark@epa.gov or Mark Austin, EPA Project Manager Impoundments 1 and 2 at austin.mark@epa.gov.

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