Proposed Plan for the Lower 8 Miles of the Lower Passaic River Released for Public Comment [April 2014]

This Proposed Plan (document, fact sheet) describes options for cleaning up the highly contaminated sediments of the lower 8 miles of the Lower Passaic River and identifies the preferred cleanup option. It was developed by EPA in partnership with NJDEP, USACE, NOAA and USFWS.

The Proposed Plan was developed based on information contained in a Remedial Investigation Report and Focused Feasibility Study, which are available for review under the Lower 8 Mile Action page. These and other documents are also part of the publicly-available administrative record file located in the Newark and Elizabeth Public Libraries and at the EPA Region 2 office (addresses listed in the Proposed Plan). EPA encourages the public to review these documents to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the river and the Superfund activities that have been conducted on the river.

The public comment period on the cleanup options presented in the Proposed Plan closed on August 20, 2014. EPA is considering the comments received and will address them in the Responsiveness Summary section of the Record of Decision, which will document the final cleanup decision for the lower 8 miles. A link to the comments received is provided on the Lower 8 Mile Action page.

Final Design for removal of contaminated sediment from a mudflat in the Lyndhurst section of the Passaic River [November 2013]

Dredging of the removal area began on August 3, 2013 and was completed on October 4, 2013. Processing of the dredged material at the Clean Earth Dredge Technologies facility in Kearny, New Jersey was completed on October 18, and all dredged sediment and associated water was sent to approved out-of-state facilities for disposal. Mobilization for capping of the removal area began on November 5, and all site activities are expected to be complete by early 2014. All work is being overseen by EPA and its contractor. Below are links to the complete final design for the removal action, which is dated July 31, 2013. Note that this design has been approved by EPA except for Appendix J, which relates to the long-term operations and maintenance of the cap after it is in place. Appendix J will be posted when it is approved. If you have any questions about this portion of the work, please contact Stephanie Vaughn, EPA project manager, at vaughn.stephanie@epa.gov . In addition, please see the previous Project News update on this subject for more details of the work.