Sierra Club To Congressman: N.J. Superfund Sites Need Cash, Not Press Conferences

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — New Jersey has the most Superfund sites in the nation, and every year U.S. Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) visits several of them in Morris, Essex and Sussex counties in an attempt to “keep the pressure on the EPA,” as the Republican lawmaker puts it.

But now it’s time to get past the press conferences, the New Jersey Sierra Club is charging.

On Monday, the Sierra Club issued a statement criticizing Frelinghuysen for not taking sufficient action against polluters or advocating for remediation funding at the Superfund sites, but still attempting to take credit for the clean-up efforts during his annual tours.

“One of the reasons the EPA is taking so long with cleaning up contaminated sites in New Jersey and does not do complete restoration is because they do not have adequate funding,” the club stated in a news release. [Frelinghuysen] has served for 11 terms and sits on the Appropriations Committee… he could do much more to help clean-up these sites than just taking tours.”

According to the EPA, Superfund - a federal cleanup program established by Congress in 1980 to investigate and clean up the country’s “most hazardous waste sites” - operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers.

“The EPA searches for parties legally responsible for the contamination at sites that are placed on the Superfund list and it holds those parties accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups,” the agency states. “Cleanups are funded by taxpayer dollars only when those responsible for the pollution cannot be found or are not financially viable.”

• See related article: Massive Superfund Cleanup Of Passaic Planned By EPA

Currently, 114 Superfund sites are located in New Jersey, including 10 in the 11th Congressional District, Frelinghuysen’s office stated.

“New Jersey has the most Superfund cleanup sites in the nation,” EPA Deputy Regional Administrator Catherine McCabe stated in a Sept. 19 news release. “Here more than anywhere, we can see how a strong national Superfund program is vital to protecting the health of people who live and work in every corner of the state.”

• See related article: Another Toxic 'Superfund' Site Identified in Newark

PAYING FOR SUPERFUND

One of the Sierra Club’s demands is for Frelinghuysen to reinstate the Superfund Tax, a fee charged to oil and chemical companies to help pay for the remediation process of Superfund sites.

Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said that Frelinghuysen has taken the tours… now he needs to start working to get the funding in place to make cleanup efforts a reality.

“[U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-6)] and others have re-introduced legislation that would reinstate the Superfund Tax to help fund clean ups since the Superfund Program is broke,” Tittel stated. “Frelinghuysen was one of the legislators and voted against this legislation originally, and has not signed on to support the new legislation.”

• See related article: Underfunded Superfund Program Still Cleaning Up

“For far too long, EPA has had to cap toxic sites because they don’t have enough money to clean them up,” Tittel said. “All along, Frelinghuysen has been giving polluters a free ride. Without adequate funding it takes longer to cleanup sites, which means more pollution into our environment and more toxins in our drinking water.”

However, in a statement provided to Patch, Frelinghuysen maintained that his annual tour was a productive effort and a commitment to his environmental efforts.

“Of course I support ‘polluters pay,’” he said. “It is crucial that we identify the polluters and that they cover the costs of the cleanup. In fact, on roughly 70 percent of the sites, the polluters have been found and are paying. Only 30 percent do not have named polluters.”

Frelinghuysen said that his annual tour helps to “keep the pressure on the EPA” and maintain cleanup momentum.

“The EPA’s annual visit has resulted in major progress on Superfund sites in my congressional district and the municipal, county and state officials who accompany EPA and NJDEP site managers to these toxic sites attest to that fact,” he asserted.

LOCAL SUPERFUND SITES

On Monday, Frelinghuysen continued his yearly visit, appearing with EPA and NJDEP officials at sites including the Mansfield Trail Dump in Byram Township (Sussex County), Radiation Technology Inc. in Rockaway Township (Morris County), Rockaway Township Wells in Rockaway Township (Morris County), Rockaway Borough Well Field in Rockaway Borough (Morris County), and Unimatic Manufacturing Corp and Caldwell Trucking in Fairfield (Essex County).

According to the EPA:

• The Unimatic Manufacturing Corporation Superfund Site in Fairfield was a metals molding facility, which operated machines using lubricating oil that contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The company’s operations contaminated soil, groundwater and a building with PCBs. Public drinking water wells are located less than one-half mile from the site.
• The Caldwell Trucking Co. Superfund Site in Fairfield is a former sewage hauling site occupying 11 acres. The site includes land and groundwater contaminated by the disposal of residential, commercial and industrial septic waste. Caldwell Trucking disposed of this waste in unlined lagoons from the early 1950s until 1973.
• The Radiation Technology, Inc. Superfund Site in Rockaway Township was used for testing and developing rocket motors and propellants. Groundwater at the site is contaminated with volatile organic compounds. The EPA removed 75 rusting and leaking drums and containers from a building at the site in March 2013.
• The Rockaway Township Wells Superfund site in Rockaway Township is a two-square-mile wellfield containing a cluster of three municipal wells within 100 feet of each other that are contaminated with various volatile organic chemicals from industrial buildings in the area.
• The Rockaway Borough Wellfield Superfund Site includes three municipal water supply wells that provide drinking water to 11,000 people. In 1985, the NJDEP investigated the site and concluded that contamination found in the municipal water supply was coming from multiple source areas within the borough. The EPA investigated the contamination and determined that soil and groundwater were contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), which are industrial solvents.

Photo: frelinghuysen.house.gov

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