Mercer County Gets $2M To Clean Up New Method Cleaners Site

MERCER COUNTY, NJ – Mercer County recently received $2 million to clean up a former industrial site in Trenton.

The announcement was made by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The funds come from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to advance environmental justice. The award is part of the largest-ever funding in the history of the EPA’s Brownfields MARC Grant programs.

Trenton will use the $1.99 million to clean up the former New Method Cleaners site.

In its over a century history, the site has been used for many industrial and commercial purposes. Most recently, a dry-cleaning business occupied the site.

In 2013, the EPA, in partnership with Trenton and NJ, removed drums containing hazardous materials and conducted an investigation at the site under the Superfund removal program.

While that removal work helped address some of the immediate risks, there are still volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the soil and groundwater, which have prevented its use, officials said.

Since 2015, the site has been vacant.

EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said the long-time abandoned building “will soon be a transformative community space—that’s environmental justice in action. This will make a real difference for people in Trenton.” As New Jersey's sole member of the Appropriations Committee, Watson Coleman said she was glad to help bring necessary resources to help restore environmental health.

“I'm grateful for President Biden's leadership through the Investing in America Agenda and its key provision of environmental justice. Rebuilding American infrastructure must include efforts like this to renew environmental health. Every American deserves to live in a safe and healthy community and partnerships between the EPA, the NJDEP, and local leaders like Mayor Gusciora will help deliver an environmentally healthy future," Watson Coleman said.

NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said the funding is an investment in the future of Trenton.

“For too long, financial barriers have prevented cities such as Trenton, which have been historically overburdened by pollution and contamination, from transforming brownfields into sites of economic revitalization and, ultimately, commerce,” LaTourette said. “I commend the Biden Administration, U.S. Rep. Watson Coleman, EPA Regional Administrator Garcia, Mayor Gusciora, and Urban Promise Trenton for their dedication in making the cleanup of this property a priority, ensuring that environmental justice is served in New Jersey.”

Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. The boost from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields Program is helping more communities address the economic, social, and environmental challenges, and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.