Community Corner
Army Corps Of Engineers To Present Raritan Arsenal Cleanup Plan At Edison Meeting
The public meeting will cover a proposed plan to address munitions and explosives found in the soil at the former Edison & Woodbridge site.
EDISON, NJ — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting to present a cleanup proposal for a commercial and industrial area of the former Raritan Arsenal. The roughly 3,200-acre former military installation in Middlesex County was where munitions and explosives of concern have been found in the soil.
The meeting is scheduled for April 15 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Edison Township Senior Center, 2963 Woodbridge Ave. Corps representatives will be available to answer questions.
The session focuses on the Commercial/Industrial Area of the former Raritan Arsenal, a Formerly Used Defense Site spanning parts of Edison and Woodbridge on the north bank of the Raritan River, approximately 20 miles southwest of lower Manhattan.
Find out what's happening in Edison-Metuchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The proposed plan addresses munitions and explosives of concern in the soil traced to historical Army activities at the site.
The Arsenal was decommissioned and decontaminated between 1962 and 1963. A 1961 study by the Ordnance Corps Headquarters had identified 16 separate areas of potential contamination, with a 17th identified during the decontamination process itself.
Find out what's happening in Edison-Metuchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In 1964, the General Services Administration sold 2,360 acres of the former Arsenal to private ownership. Most of that land has since been developed into the Raritan Center Industrial Park. The GSA retained 200 acres.
The Corps is conducting its investigation and cleanup under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites, a federal program that addresses environmental conditions at installations transferred from Department of Defense ownership to private hands.
The public comment period runs from April 14 through May 18. Meeting materials and documents related to the proposed plan are available on the Corps' website at nae.usace.army.mil or in person at the Corps' information repository at 2890 Woodbridge Ave., Edison.
Written comments and questions can be directed to project manager Aaron Jones at Aaron.A.Jones@usace.army.mil.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
