Trump Administration Pledges To Continue Passaic River Cleanup

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — The Trump Administration has pledged to continue cleaning up the heavily polluted Passaic River, a move that worries some local environmentalists.

The lower eight miles of the Passaic River was declared a federal Superfund site in 1984 after years of contamination at the former Diamond Alkali Co. manufacturing facility in Newark. Sediment there contains dioxin, PCBs, heavy metals, pesticides and other contaminants.

Diamond Alkali is one of several responsible parties responsible for what's known as "legacy contamination," or contamination that occurred over several decades by multiple parties.

DDT and other chemicals were made at the Lister Avenue site in Newark in the 1940s. Diamond Alkali owned and manufactured agricultural chemicals, including herbicides in "Agent Orange." Dioxin, an extremely toxic chemical, was a by-product of the manufacturing. The site includes part of the Hackensack River.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secured a $165 million agreement with Occidental Chemical, one of the responsible parties, in 2016 to clean up the eight miles of the river. However, funding and personnel changes to the EPA could put the cleanup in jeopardy, however.

Debbie Mans, executive director of the NY/NY Baykeeper, a grassroots group that works to preserve, protect and restore local waterways, testified about the cleanup before the Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce last week.

"I see a lot of stuff that gives me pause with moving decision making on these types of things to the bureaucrats to Washington, D.C.," Mans told WYNC radio. One of those things includes a proposed one-third federal budget cut to the EPA.

EPA regional directors are usually tasked with making decisions regarding Superfund sites, but a policy change allows EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to make decisions regarding larger Superfund sites.

"We think that these types of decisions, that the top priority is the protection of human health and the environment. That is the goal of the Superfund program," Mans said. "What we're seeing is if you take out the decision making authority from the region, where the community has the most input, and move it to political appointees in Washington, D.C., who may not have the same goals in mind, that's going to be problematic."

New Jersey has the most number of Superfund sites of any state with 114. California ranks second with 98.

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.

Photo: Debris lies along the Passaic River near the stadium for the MLS New York Red Bulls soccer team in Harrison/Mel Evans, Associates Press file photo