Feds Have New Plan To Clean Up Superfund Site Near Passaic River

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — There’s a new plan to clean up soil and water contamination at a Superfund site in Essex County near the Passaic River, federal authorities say.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shared its proposed plan to clean up the former Unimatic Manufacturing Corporation location in Fairfield.

Before ending operations at the site in 2001, the company used the site to run a metal molding facility, where it operated machines using lubricating oil that contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). According to the EPA, Unimatic’s operations ended up contaminating the soil, groundwater and a building on the property with PCBs, which have been shown to cause cancer in animals and may have “potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects” on humans.

See a detailed background of the case here.

Under the EPA’s first cleanup plan, which was finalized in 2016, a building located at 25 Sherwood Lane was set to be demolished, and the contaminated soil excavated and disposed at an off-site facility.

As part of the new plan, the EPA is proposing to excavate and remove about 865 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from drainage areas located downstream of the site. In addition to future monitoring efforts, the EPA would restrict the use of groundwater from the site. Any disturbed wetlands or vegetation will be restored, officials said.

The EPA's proposed plan for the site will be made available online here, officials said.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the new plan was a long overdue move for a site that’s remained a “toxic nightmare” for decades.

Tittel said it’s important that EPA is moving forward with a “more thorough” cleanup rather than just capping the site, because the area is prone to flooding.

A cap would be ineffective and would leach toxic materials into the Passaic River, he charged.

“The EPA didn’t have funding to clean up this site last year, so we’re glad that they’re moving forward with a cleanup plan this year,” Tittel said. “It’s good that the EPA is completely removing the PCBs from this site, not using a temporary Band Aid, because these toxins are harmful to the communities living nearby.”

However, there’s more work to do when it comes to Superfund sites in the Garden State, he added.

“New Jersey has the most Superfund sites in the country, and we are also one of the most densely populated states,” Tittel said. “The EPA needs to move quickly to clean up the other toxic sites in New Jersey.”

A 30-day public comment period for the proposed plan at the Unimatic site in Fairfield will take place from July 14 to Aug. 12. Written comments on EPA's proposed plan may be mailed or emailed to Trevor Anderson, remedial project manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866, or anderson.trevor@epa.gov. Comments postmarked on or before Aug. 4 will be accepted.

The EPA will also host a virtual public meeting on July 23 at 6 p.m. To register for the meeting, visit https://unimatic-superfund.eventbrite.com. To learn more about the meeting, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/unimatic or contact Donette Samuel at samuel.donette@epa.gov, or (212) 637-3570.

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