Posted on October 4, 2018
Federal officials announced Tuesday they approved a $332 million plan to remove toxic waste from Berry’s Creek in the Meadowlands making it one of the largest toxic waste cleanups ever in New Jersey.
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The plan by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls for dredging sediment two feet deep from a long stretch of the waterway long known for having one of the highest concentrations of mercury waste in the world.
A canoe trip up Berry’s Creek. The waterway may not look contaminated, but its riverbed contains one of the largest amounts of mercury pollution in the world.
The cleanup will benefit much of the Meadowlands since Berry’s Creek meanders for six miles through several towns, federal officials have said.
Check out photos of the creek. Story continues after gallery:
EPA targets Berry’s Creek in the Meadowlands for major cleanup
Harmful levels of PCBs and other contaminants came from several sources, including Universal Oil Products site in East Rutherford; and the Scientific Chemical Processing site in Carlstadt.
But much, if not all, the mercury came from the 40-acre Ventron/Velsicol site in Wood-Ridge, where the toxic metal was removed from discarded lab equipment, batteries and other devices. Berry’s Creek is considered part of the Ventron/Velsicol Superfund site.
It will take two years to design the dredging project and more than three years to carry it out.
The project calls for dredging contaminated sediment 2 feet deep across the width of the creek across 88 acres. Clean fill will be placed on the dredged area.
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The plan also calls for 1 foot of polluted mud to be removed from 28 acres of a marshland near Paterson Plank Road called Upper Peach Island Creek.
Water will be separated from the dredged sediment at a nearby facility. Sediment will transported off site for disposal at a permitted facility. Water will be treated and poured back into the creek.
Starting near Teterboro Airport, Berry’s Creek twists around MetLife Stadium and flows through parts of Teterboro, Wood-Ridge, Lyndhurst, Carlstadt, Rutherford and East Rutherford. It is a major tributary of the Hackensack River and has become a key stopover for migrating birds
The Ventron/Vesicol site was listed as a Superfund site in 1984 and languished there as the federal government tracked down more than 100 parties held responsible for the pollution.
It was one of seven sites nationally cited by the EPA’s Inspector General in 2008 for “unnecessary delays” due to a failure to communicate among state and federal regulators, develop cleanup schedules and review documents in a timely manner. Soon after the report, a $12.5 million cleanup of the site began.
EPA officials still have to sign agreement with polluters to pay for the $332 million cleanup.
Source: northjersey.com
