TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The federal government plans to launch a $1.7 billion cleanup of a stretch of the Passaic River in New Jersey where Agent Orange was made and where mercury and DDT remain.
The plan, unveiled Friday in Newark, has the support of several members of Congress from New Jersey as well as Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s administration and environmentalists.
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to deeply dredge the lower two miles of the river with the idea of making it navigable again and cap the riverbed on the six miles upstream to keep pollutants in place. The government selected the option over one that would have involved dredging the entire 8-mile stretch of the lower Passaic, which runs through Newark and other northern New Jersey towns before emptying into Newark Bay. The plan selected does not address upper stretches of the river, which the Sierra Club of New Jersey says also needs attention.
The river runs through the heart of what was one of the nation’s busiest industrial areas and its sediment bears witness to the history.
Officials say they expect to take out 4.3 million cubic yards of material - enough to fill MetLife Stadium twice - treat it, and put it in a hazardous waste landfill.
The material includes several dangerous chemicals that were put into the water by more than 100 factories that were on the banks of the river over a century. The EPA says it expects to remove 18 pounds of highly toxic dioxins, 15,000 pounds of PCB’s, 35,000 pounds of mercury and nearly 2,000 pounds of the now-banned pesticide DDT.
The government had previously removed material close to the former Newark plant of Diamond Alkali where Agent Orange - a herbicide used to clear foliage during the Vietnam War that causes serious health problems and birth defects - was produced.
The EPA says that the biggest health risks to people from contamination on the river come from eating fish from there - something that some people do despite warnings. The agency says that fish caught in the river can be made safer to eat, and that risks to wildlife can be reduced through the project.
“Unfortunately, this environmental treasure was misused for several decades. It became a dumping ground for industrial toxins and pollutants,” New Jersey DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said in a statement. “But it does not have to remain impaired. It can be brought back to life and returned to its role as an important environmental and economic resource for north Jersey.”
The EPA intends to use the Superfund, which forced polluters to pay, for the cleanup.
New Jersey’s two U.S. senators and four of its Congressmen issued a joint statement praising the potential of the cleanup for the environment and for creating hundreds of jobs.
Many precise details of the EPA’s plan have not been determined. The agency is holding three hearings in May and June and accepting public comment until June. It expects to unveil a final plan next year.
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