EPA Seeks Feedback About Plan To Clean Polluted Site In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking feedback from the public on a cleanup plan for a polluted Superfund site in Newark.

According to a news release from the EPA, the site includes 5.8 acres of land between 80-120 Lister Avenue, the Lower Passaic River, and a portion of Newark Bay.

What’s the deal? According to federal officials:

“Activities at Lister Avenue left behind contaminated soil, debris, and groundwater. The EPA originally put into place an interim plan that included containing the material at Lister Avenue with a cap and operating a groundwater containment system. The EPA is proposing a permanent plan that will improve on the systems in place to safely contain the material.”

For additional background and to see the proposed cleanup plan, visit the Diamond Alkali Superfund site page.

The 30-day public comment period begins on September 10th, 2024, and will extend through October 10th, 2024. EPA will host a hybrid public meeting at 100 Summit St, Newark, NJ 07103 in Room 303 of the NJIT Central King Building on September 19th, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. to discuss the proposed plan, which will not be finalized until the agency considers public comments. People can register for the meeting by signing up using this link.

Written comments on the proposed plan may be submitted from September 10th – October 10th, 2024, to Eugenia Naranjo, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway – 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007 or via email: Naranjo.eugenia@epa.gov.

The EPA provided additional background about the site:

“Due to its size and complexity, the EPA separated the Superfund site and project work into four phases known as Operable Units (OUs). This proposed permanent plan focuses on OU1, the location of a former pesticide and herbicide manufacturing facility that contaminated the surrounding area, the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay.

“The proposed plan calls for continued operation of the existing remedy, with improvements including reinstalling and reactivating a total of seven groundwater pumps, upgrading the current groundwater treatment system, and making any necessary repairs to the existing cap covering contaminated materials. This approach builds on the previously completed work and would avoid the short-term risks associated with other options such as digging up and removing the contaminated material outright.

“The EPA assessed the potential impacts from climate change and confirmed that the 2001 cleanup was designed to withstand anticipated flood and storm impacts. The existing cleanup remained effective through major storms. The EPA conducted a forward-looking climate change vulnerability assessment on the proposed cleanup to evaluate the impacts of rising temperatures, sea level rise, extreme weather, and heavy precipitation. The assessment concluded that the cleanup plan moving forward will address these vulnerabilities. The agency’s proposed cleanup approach includes planning for a temporary groundwater treatment system to provide treatment if the existing system is damaged during a storm.

“For the purposes of investigating and cleaning up the river, the EPA has broken the 17-mile stretch of the Lower Passaic River into two separate units: the lower 8.3 miles and the upper 9 miles, each with unique characteristics. In 2024, the EPA approved the engineering design for the cleanup of the lower 8.3 miles, which was prepared by Occidental Chemical Corporation, a potentially responsible party for the site. As of 2023, Occidental Chemical Corporation began developing the engineering design for the upper 9-mile portion. The other area of this site, a portion of Newark Bay, has undergone an investigation by Occidental Chemical Corporation and is currently the subject of ongoing studies to evaluate cleanup options.”

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