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Monday, October 7, 2024

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Project Meetings

The next Passaic River Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting will be on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 6 PM, via Zoom. CAG members and stakeholders on the CAG mailing list will receive call-in information by email. Other stakeholders interested in attending the meeting should email Curtis.Malcolm@epa.gov.

Videos of past meetings are posted here. Please contact Drew Curtis with any questions at 212-637-3726 or Curtis.Malcolm@epa.gov.

Presentations from previous meetings are posted in the Digital Library, under Public Outreach Documents, Public Outreach\Community Advisory Group.

EPA hosted community meetings on the cleanup of the Upper Nine Miles of the Lower Passaic River in Passaic (June) and Garfield (July). Here are the slides.

EPA hosted a community meeting on the cleanup of the Lower 8.3 Miles of the Lower Passaic River in Harrison (August). Here are the slides.

The next community meeting on the cleanup of the Lower 8.3 Miles will be in Newark, in October. Stay tuned for date and location.


   
Fish and Shellfish Advisories

Exposure to low levels of some contaminants in the environment may have long lasting health effects on people. Mercury, PCBs and dioxins are among the major contaminants found in some New Jersey fish in portions of the state. These contaminants can be especially harmful to women of childbearing age, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Children are also at risk of developmental and neurological problems if exposed to these chemicals.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) provide advice on consuming those species of fish in which high levels of dioxin, PCBs and mercury have been found.


   
Why we are here...

The Lower Passaic River is a 17-mile tidal stretch from Dundee Dam to the river mouth at Newark Bay. The river has a long history of industrialization, which has resulted in degraded water quality, sediment contamination, loss of wetlands and abandoned or underutilized properties along the shore.

A group of Partner Agencies (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New Jersey Department of Transportation) is working together to clean up and restore the Lower Passaic River. The agencies are bringing together the authorities of the Superfund Program, the Water Resources Development Act, the Clean Water Act and other laws to improve the health of the river.

Objectives of the Study
Project News

EPA Announces Proposed Plan for Diamond Alkali Operable Unit 1 [September 2024]

EPA is proposing a plan to clean up the 80-120 Lister Avenue property in Newark, which is part of the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site. The plan identifies the preferred remedial alternative, or cleanup action. The Proposed Plan, Community Update fact sheet and Administrative Record are available on EPA’s Superfund web site.

EPA will be hosting a Public Meeting on the Proposed Plan on September 19, 2024 at 6 PM. The Public Meeting will be in person at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Central King Building at 100 Summit Street in Newark, Room 303 and virtually at https://bit.ly/listerave91924.

Community Involvement Plan (CIP) for 80-120 Lister Avenue [July 2024]

The EPA finalized the Community Involvement Plan, also referred to as CIP, for 80-120 Lister Avenue, also known as Operable Unit 1. The agency developed the CIP, with community input, to encourage community involvement and to facilitate communication between the EPA and all stakeholders interested in the site and cleanup actions at the site. The EPA will update the CIP as needed, to ensure that opportunities for meaningful public participation continue throughout the cleanup action and beyond. This CIP is focused to fit the communication needs associated with the cleanup of 80-120 Lister Ave. It is structured to provide the reader with a high-level understanding of the work being done and to share the EPA’s plans for keeping the community engaged and aware.

PUBLIC NOTICE: DIAMOND ALKALI SUPERFUND SITE - LPRSA and NBSA SAMPLE DISPOSAL SET FOR AUGUST 15, 2024

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT on August 15, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency intends to proceed with the disposal of certain samples that were collected by EPA from 2005 to 2019 from the Lower Passaic River Study Area and Newark Bay Study Area, as part of EPA’s performance of response actions. The material to be disposed of consists of samples from sediment cores and traps, biota tissue samples, water samples and rinsate blank samples.

EPA analyzed most of the samples, using EPA-approved methodologies and has final validated data reported in accordance with the applicable Quality Assurance Project Plans (“QAPPs”).

EPA provides notice that it plans to dispose of certain Samples, as described herein, unless another entity takes custody of those Samples, in accordance with the terms of this notice.

  1. Each of the Samples is beyond the holding time which is the period of time following the collection of the sample beyond which the sample will be unable to provide viable results. In addition, the volume of material remaining for certain Samples may be insufficient for laboratory analysis. EPA specifically reserves the right to argue in any forum that the Samples exceed their applicable holding time and are not viable for purposes of analysis, or that the results of any analyses performed on such Samples are flawed and/or unreliable and inadmissible as evidence.
  2. The NBSA samples are 75 sediment split samples collected by EPA in oversight of the Occidental Chemical Corporation (“OCC”) Phases I (2005), II (2007) and III (2016) sediment coring for the remedial investigation. The oversight QAPPs governing the sampling are posted on ourNewarkBay.org or ourPassaic.org, in the Digital Library, "Sampling\Newark Bay" folder.
  3. The LPRSA samples were collected by EPA in its performance of the lower 8.3-mile (“OU2”) remedial investigation/focused feasibility study (“RI/FFS”), and in its oversight of the 17-mile (“OU4”) remedial investigation performed by the Cooperating Parties Group (“CPG”), the River Mile 10.9 (“RM10.9”) removal action performed by the CPG, and the OU2 remedial design (“RD”) performed by OCC. The QAPPs governing the sampling are posted on ourPassaic.org, in the Digital Library, “Sampling\Passaic River” folder.
    1. The OU2 RI/FFS samples are 644 sediment samples, two rinsate blanks and three water samples collected by EPA for the high resolution sediment coring (2005), low resolution sediment coring (2006), Dundee Lake (2007) and Empirical Mass Balance (2007-2008) programs.
    2. The OU4 samples are 196 sediment split samples and 50 biota split samples collected by EPA in oversight of the CPG sediment and biota sampling from 2008 through 2013.
    3. The RM10.9 samples are six sediment split samples collected by EPA in 2013 in oversight of the CPG’s performance of the RM10.9 removal.
    4. The OU2 RD samples are 237 sediment split samples collected by EPA in oversight of the OCC pre-design investigation (2017 through 2019).
    5. There are also two National Institute of Standards and Technology quality control sediment samples.
  4. The Samples will be disposed of on August 15, 2024, unless the individual identified in Paragraph 7 receives written notice on or before August 8, 2024 that: (1) the interested party objects to EPA’s disposal of the Samples and provides a detailed and well-founded basis for such objection; and/or (2) the interested party is willing to take ownership and custody of the Samples and, if so, must execute an Ownership and Custody Agreement pursuant to Paragraph 5.
  5. EPA has prepared an Ownership and Custody Agreement reflecting reasonable terms for transferring ownership and custody of the Samples to the interested party. The terms of the Ownership and Custody Agreement are non-negotiable. According to the terms of the Ownership and Custody Agreement, those interested parties who seek to obtain the Samples agree to accept responsibility for the transportation, care, storage, handling, maintenance, chain of custody, notice of later testing, and ultimate disposal of the Samples. The Ownership and Custody Agreement will also provide a date certain for the interested party to remove the Samples from the controlled storage units or otherwise take responsibility for payment of storage fees. A copy of the Ownership and Custody Agreement will be provided to an interested party upon EPA’s receipt of the notice described in Paragraph 4. The Ownership and Custody Agreement must be executed and returned within 30 days of EPA’s receipt of the notice described in Paragraph 4. EPA reserves its right to assert that any person or party that does not request an Ownership and Custody Agreement, or requests the Ownership and Custody Agreement but does not execute and return it within 30 days, has waived any claims or arguments regarding the transfer or disposal of the Samples by EPA.
  6. In the event an interested party objects to EPA’s disposal of the Samples, the costs of storing these laboratory samples are considered response costs under CERCLA until (1) the party withdraws its objection or EPA concludes there is no valid basis for the objection or (2) EPA transfers ownership and custody to the interested party. If an interested party objects to disposal of a Sample but does not request to take custody thereof and EPA determines there is no valid basis for the objection, EPA will dispose of the Sample after making such determination.
  7. If you are interested in obtaining ownership and custody of the Samples, please provide written notice in accordance with Paragraph 4 to Frances M. Zizila, 290 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10007 and by email to zizila.frances@epa.gov. Notice must be received by August 8, 2024. In the event more than one private party demonstrates an interest in obtaining the Samples, the Samples will be provided on a first come, first serve basis.

EPA Approves Final Clean-Up Design for Lower 8.3 Miles of the Passaic River [May 2024]

EPA has approved the final engineering design work needed to clean up the lower 8.3 miles of the Passaic River. The design was developed by Occidental Chemical Corporation-Glenn Springs Holdings and subject to review and approval by EPA. A fact sheet located here provides an overview of what’s in the design. The design documents will be posted in the Digital Library, under “All Public Documents”, “Passaic River Lower 8 Mile Action”.

With the approval of the bioaccumulation model (Appendix P), EPA has finalized the 17-mile Remedial Investigation Report which can be accessed here. [January 2023]

Proposed Consent Decree with 85 Potentially Responsible Parties for Public Comment [December 2022]

EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice announce a proposed consent decree, a legal document, with 85 potentially responsible parties, requiring them to pay a total of $150 million to support the cleanup work and resolve their liability for discharging hazardous substances into the Lower Passaic River, which is part of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site. This consent decree is open for a 90-day public comment period and is available for review on the Justice Department website. Additional information is available on EPA’s Diamond Alkali Superfund Profile Page under “Site Documents & Data”.

See the press release in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Community Involvement Plan [October 2022, Updated July 2024]

EPA has updated the Community Involvement Plan (CIP) for the Upper 9 miles of the Lower Passaic River Study Area. The CIP was developed to encourage community involvement and to facilitate communication between EPA and community members, environmental groups, government officials, the media, and other parties interested in the site and cleanup actions at the site. This CIP provides the backbone of the community involvement program and serves as a useful resource that the cleanup team can turn to for advice on appropriate activities for community involvement. This CIP will serve as a roadmap for EPA in providing opportunities to share information with the public and to receive input during the interim and final cleanup action design and cleanup. It will be updated, as needed, to ensure opportunities for meaningful public participation continue throughout the interim cleanup action and beyond. This CIP is focused to fit the communication needs associated with the cleanup of the upper 9 miles of the LPRSA. It is structured to provide the reader with a high-level understanding of the work being done and to share EPA’s plans for keeping the community engaged and aware.

This CIP is available here.

EPA’s Frequently Asked Questions about the Sediment Processing Facility or Facilities [October 2021]

The cleanup plans for the lower 8.3 miles and upper 9 miles of the Passaic River call for dredging contaminated sediments from the river, which need to be processed at a sediment treatment facility or facilities. This fact sheet, located here, answers frequently asked questions such as what a sediment treatment facility is, where it might be located, and how community health and safety will be protected.

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