New York District – The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 recently announced a $1.38 billion Superfund
project for the cleanup of the Lower Passaic River. The event featured keynote
speakers Sen. Bob Menendez, Sen. Cory Booker, Judith Enck, regional
administrator, EPA, Col. David Caldwell, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
New York District, Bob Martin, commissioner, New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, and other participants. Each talked about the
importance of the cleanup of the lower Passaic River.
“We know the challenges of standing up for the
health of our communities, and I’m confident that we’ll rise to that challenge,”
said Sen. Bob Menendez. “I want to thank everyone for their effort and
partnership to reclaim the Passaic and leave a new legacy for generation to
come,” said Menendez.
The EPA plans to remove 3.5 million cubic yards
of toxic sediment, and cap it with two feet of sand for the entire lower eight
miles of the Passaic River. According to EPA officials, this is the most
contaminated portion of the Passaic River.
Sen. Booker spoke about cleaning up more than a
century’s worth of pollution in the lower Passaic River. “Today I’m very
grateful for the heroic leadership of the people here, but we have work to do in
cleaning up the sins committed by corporations past and present.”
During the 1960s’ hazardous chemicals such as
Agent Orange and various herbicides were dumped into the river. Over the years
those toxic chemicals sunk to the bottom of the river severely contaminating the
sediment with dioxin, PCBs, and heavy metals, creating an unbalance within the
ecosystem.
According to Judith, EPA will construct a
dewatering facility where contaminates will gather on the bottom followed by a
treatment of the water, and the toxic material will be sent to a licensed
disposal facility for proper disposal. “This will be the largest volume of
sediment ever dredged under the EPA Superfund nationwide.”
The lower Passaic River cleanup plays a critical
role in the Corps of Engineers environmental stewardship mission.
"The Army Corps of Engineers is pleased to see this important cleanup plan
moving forward," said Col. Caldwell, commander, New York District. "This is
extremely important for the necessary environmental improvement of the NY-NJ
Harbor and Estuary while at the same time helping protect critical government
investments in a responsible way."
Officials also discussed the plan for disposal
of the contaminated material.
“The contaminated material removed from the
Passaic River will be brought to a permitted treatment facility and then sent to
a land fill outside the state of New Jersey, none of the contaminated sediment
removed will be disposed of in New Jersey,” said Bob Martin, NJDEP.
The lower Passaic River cleanup is expected to take approximately 11 years to
complete, once legal processes conclude. The federal Superfund law is based on
the guiding principle that polluters, not taxpayers, pay the cost of cleanup.
This $1.38 billion cleanup project will be paid for by those responsible for the
pollution.