Public Meeting to Take Place May 28
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
(New York, N.Y. – May 19, 2015) The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has proposed a plan to clean up contaminated groundwater at
the Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund site in Milford and Alexandria Township,
New Jersey. The site includes the 86-acre historic former Milford Mill, which
converted paper pulp to paper for 96 years before shutting down in 2003.
The Superfund program operates on the principle that
polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to
taxpayers. The EPA searches for parties legally responsible for the
contamination at sites that are placed on the Superfund list and it seeks to
hold those parties accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups.
The cleanup of the Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund site is being conducted
and paid for by the International Paper Company and Georgia-Pacific Consumer
Products, LP with oversight by the EPA.
Past operations, including of the predecessors of the
companies conducting the work at the site, contaminated the soil with PCBs, and
contaminated groundwater in several areas of the site with volatile organic
compounds. PCBs are chemicals that persist in the environment and can affect
the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems and are potentially
cancer-causing.
Previous cleanup work has addressed the immediate risks
and the sources of contamination at the site including PCB-contaminated soil,
buildings and structures, and debris, among other risks. The EPA’s proposed
plan addresses the volatile organic compounds in the groundwater, the final
part of the site that requires a cleanup under Superfund. In the proposed plan,
EPA is proposing bioremediation, monitoring and limiting the use of the
groundwater to protect people’s health.
The EPA will hold a public meeting on May 28, 2015 to
explain the proposed plan and is encouraging public comments. The meeting will
be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Milford Firehouse, 21 Water Street, Milford, New Jersey.
Comments will be accepted until June 29, 2015.
“The sources of contamination have been addressed by
successor companies of the polluters,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith
A. Enck. “EPA’s proposed plan to address groundwater contamination at the site
represents the last chapter in this cleanup. The EPA encourages the public to
attend the May 28 meeting at Milford and share their views on the proposed
plan.”
In 2007, the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection turned the site over to the EPA and the EPA added the site to its
federal Superfund list in 2009.
From 2007 to 2014, EPA conducted and oversaw several
elements of this cleanup, including removal of hazardous materials, storage
tanks, oil-containing electrical equipment, asbestos, construction and
demolition debris, concrete, scrap metal and contaminated soil. Over 10,500
cubic yards of soil were removed. In addition, a dozen buildings, garages and
other structures were demolished and six wells used by the facility were closed
and dismantled. A large outdoor basin that was used to aerate wastewater from
the operation was demolished and the area was restored to a vegetated, open
habitat area. The slopes along the Quequacommisacong Creek, which has eroded,
were restored and replanted.
The proposed plan to address groundwater calls for
bioremediation using non-hazardous additives to break down the volatile organic
compounds in the groundwater. The specific types of additives to be used will
be determined by the EPA as part of the design of the cleanup. Throughout the
cleanup, monitoring, testing and further studies will be conducted to ensure
the effectiveness of the remedy. The proposed plan also would prohibit the use
of groundwater from the site as drinking water through restrictions.
Written comments about the proposed plan may be mailed or
emailed to:
Alison Hess, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10007
The plan for the site will be available at http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/curtisspecialtypapers/