Press Release on Beginning of Construction for First Phase of Passaic River Cleanup

EPA issued a press release announcing that work has begun on removing the first 40,000 out of 200,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from an area of the Passaic River near the Diamond Alkali Superfund site. Click here for the press release.

New Web Site Launched for Lower Passaic Contaminated Sediment Cleanup Project

Tierra Solutions, Inc has created a Phase 1 Removal Action Web site to post detailed information related to the work that has happened to date. On this Web site you will find progress reports and updates, along with links to the Community Health and Safety Plan and to contacts for questions/concerns. Construction work is well underway at both the Diamond Alkali Superfund site and the sediment processing facility on Blanchard Street. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are overseeing the work. We encourage you to check out this Web site for the latest updates. Click here.

Construction Begins for the First Phase of the Passaic River Cleanup

• July 12 - August 2, 2011: initial mobilization at the Diamond Alkali site
• August 2 - August 25, 2011: drilling of corings into the floodwall and placing of support structures on that wall
• August 25 - September 27, 2011: installation of the tiebacks into the floodwall
• September 30 - October 17, 2011: placement of scour protection material in the river
• October 18, 2011 - January 5, 2012: construction of the sheet pile wall
• August 1 - August 3, 2011: initial mobilization at the upland sediment processing facility
• August 5 - December 21, 2011: construction of the upland sediment processing facility

First Phase of Passaic River Cleanup Set to Begin

EPA and Tierra Solutions, Inc have developed a fact sheet detailing the locations and activities of the Phase 1 Removal Action work that is scheduled to begin in July and last through the end of 2012. Included in the fact sheet are the community hotline numbers in English, Spanish and Portuguese and a flow diagram of all of the elements of the work. Click here for the fact sheet.

EPA Makes Cleanup Decision Final For First Phase of Passaic River Cleanup

EPA, in consultation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, has selected a final cleanup plan for the first stage of a two-phased project to remove dioxin-laden sediment from the lower Passaic River. The cleanup plan, outlined in an Action Memorandum, signed by EPA on January 9, 2009, involves mechanical dredging of 40,000 cubic yards of sediment with mechanical processing to dewater the sediment on land nearby. Click here for the press release.

EPA Asks Community for Input on Passaic River Cleanup Proposal

EPA is proposing a cleanup plan for the first stage of a two-phased project to remove dioxin-laden sediment from the lower Passaic River directly in front of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site in downtown Newark. The agency is seeking public input through December 19, 2008 on the proposal, which implements a June 2008 agreement between EPA, Occidental Chemical Corporation and Tierra Solutions, Inc. under which the companies agreed to remove, in two phases, a total of 200,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the portion of the river directly in front of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site in downtown Newark. Details of the proposal, released to the public on November 19, 2008, will be discussed at a public meeting on Tuesday, December 2, which will be held at 7:00 pm at the Hawkins Street Elementary School located at 8 Hawkins Street in the Ironbound section of Newark.

Copies of the Proposed Plan for the Lower Passaic River Phase 1 Removal Action, Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis and draft Community Involvement Plan are available on-line here.

EPA Approves Plan for Evaluating Contaminated Sediment Removal Alternatives

On June 23, 2008 EPA signed an agreement with Occidental Chemical and Tierra Solutions (Tierra) to remove 200,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the portion of the lower Passaic River that is right in front of the Diamond Alkali site in Newark. Pursuant to that agreement, an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) will be performed by Tierra, and overseen by EPA, to identify the goals of the contaminated sediment removal project, to analyze the various alternatives for effectiveness, cost and implementability, and to compare alternatives for consistency with federal and state requirements. As the first step in this process Tierra submitted an EE/CA Work Plan, which EPA approved on August 29, 2008. Although this plan includes a schedule of activities (see Figure 5-1), EPA's approval only applied through the submittal of the Phase 1 EE/CA, since further discussions need to be held to incorporate the required public comment period and the anticipated response to comment period. Click here to download the plan.

EPA Signs Agreement with Companies to Remove Major Source of Dioxin from the Lower Passaic River

A momentous agreement between EPA, Occidental Chemical and Tierra Solutions calls for the most significant removal of contaminated material from the Passaic in history. The settlement, announced June 23, 2008 at a park overlooking the river, involves the removal of nearly half of the dioxin that has contaminated sediment in the Passaic. It requires Occidental and Tierra Solutions to remove 200,000 cubic yards of dioxin-laden material from the portion of the river directly in front of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site in downtown Newark.

Click here to view the press release, click here to view the removal agreement, and click here to view the fact sheet.