EPA holding meeting in South Plainfield after cost of wildlife preserve cleanup skyrockets
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public input on the cleanup of contaminated soil and debris in South Plainfield after the estimated cost of the project has skyrocketed.
The Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund site, once a dump in two properties at the south end of Woodbrook Road near the Edison border, is a 70-acre wooded site largely within the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve.
The estimated cost of the cleanup rose from $45.4 million in 2018 to $70 million in 2023, due in part to inflation and increased construction costs, according to the EPA.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the Woodbrook Road Dump accepted household and industrial waste, including electrical capacitors containing PCBs, which contaminated the surrounding soil, according to the EPA. The dump was closed by the state in 1958, and the site was placed on the National Priorities List in 2003.
The EPA’s cleanup plan calls for the removal of an estimated 147,000 cubic yards of soil and debris from the site.
“EPA values community input and involvement as we work to clean up Superfund sites,” Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said in a statement. “This site is part of a large conservation area in South Plainfield, but it has been polluted by household and industrial waste for decades. After careful re-evaluation, EPA has made a few updates to the original remedy, which the public can review and comment on.”
In June 2022, the EPA announced Cornell Dubilier Electronics agreed to pay $4 toward the site cleanup.
Also see: Feds want input to clean up Superfund site in Old Bridge
According to court documents, during certain periods of time prior to 1963, Cornell Dubilier Electronics manufactured capacitors at its Hamilton Boulevard plant located about a mile from the site.
Court papers say Cornell Dubilier Electronics disposed capacitors returned to the company at the dump. The capacitors contained PCBs.
Under that proposed $4 million settlement, the EPA will receive $3,361,500 for site cleanup, the U.S. Department of Interior and the state will receive $265,000 for natural resource damages, and the state will receive $373,500 to resolve cost recovery claims.
A public comment period for the proposed cleanup plan runs to Sept. 13 and the EPA has scheduled a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. July 27 at the South Plainfield Courtroom.
Written comments may be mailed to Diane Salkie Sharkey, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway – 18th Floor, New York, New York, 10007, or email salkie.diane@epa.gov.
Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com
Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: EPA: South Plainfield NJ Superfund site cleanup cost skyrockets
