Date : Mon, 14 Mar 2016 17:55:40 -0400
EPA’s Pompton Lakes Clean-Up Plan Will Fail
The Environmental Protection Agency will begin its weak plan to dredge mercury laced sediment from Pompton Lakes this spring. This clean-up plan for the DuPont will not completely remove the contamination after being delayed for several years. It will cost $43 million dollars to remove more than 130,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, but will still keep hot spots in the ground.
“This is not a clean-up of Acid Brook Delta and Pompton Lakes; t his plan is a sellout that could threaten our water supply. The EPA calls this a clean-up, but it will keep contamination in the ground. With this plan, the EPA will leave toxic hotspots in place and cap most of the contaminated sediment. Capping the hotspots will not work since scouring from the river could remove those caps. We believe that capping a river that is prone to flooding doesn’t make sense and will fail. The caps will just wash away causing more pollution problems for all of us,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This clean-up could be a public health nightmare because it is above water supply intakes. The mercury from this site could not only get back into the environment and fisheries, but could impact our water supply. The EPA is doing this plan because it is cheaper for DuPont not because it’s best for the environment or the people of Pompton Lakes.”
The contamination at this site can be attributed to the former DuPont munitions facility in Pompton Lakes and Wanaque. Mercury and other pollution was brought to Pompton Lakes by Acid Brook. The DuPont facility, operated from 1902 until 1994, made blasting caps, metal wires, and aluminum and copper ammunition shells the United States used in the two World Wars and other military conflicts.
“Even though the cleanup of Acid Brook Delta and Pompton Lakes is long overdue it is not being done properly. What we are more concerned about is the toxic plume that is under 450 homes. What about the people who are suffering from toxic vapor intrusion from the contaminated DuPont Site? The DEP has completely walked away from their responsibility to protect those homes from vapor intrusion and the state is not requiring the cleanup of groundwater that has contaminated those homes and causing the vapors to rise,” said Jeff Tittel. “Given the size and complexity of the contamination of this site and the failure of the DEP to do its job, this should be listed as a Superfund Site. The problem we have with the DuPont site is that EPA should be the lead instead of the DEP. Even though we may have concerns about EPA’s oversight of the contamination here, the DEP has completely sold out the people of Pompton Lakes. The DEP stands for DuPont’s excessive pollution.”
There is wide concern that toxic mercury from this site can be found in local fish, which is a risk to human health. However, without completely removing the toxins the fish will still be impacted with contamination.
“This site should have been cleaned up 20 years ago when DEP first started it’s over site on this site. This site deserves a timely and complete cleanup because the community deserves it. This area is contaminated with mercury, which easily bio-accumulates building up in fish threatening the public health. Mercury pollution is very dangerous to the public’s health damaging the nervous system and other adverse health effects. Everyday this contamination is threatening the public health and environment.”
The New Jersey Sierra Club believes the entire DuPont site needs to be cleaned up. This site contains dangerous toxins like mercury, lead, and ground water contaminated with volatile organic compounds and has been contaminated for far too long.
“We need to cleanup Acid Brook Delta, but cleaning up the rest of the town is even more important. The toxic chemicals on Acid Brook Delta and the area around it have been leaching into the Pompton River right above major water supply intakes. Acid Brook is on Pompton Lake and part of the Pompton River just below this site there is a water supply intake where enough water is taken out to supply over 640,000 people,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The water here gets pumped to both the Wanaque and Oradell Reservoirs.This area has seen a lot of floods. When it floods it can send contaminated silt downstream impacting homes, property, and water supply intakes. The EPA must revoke this weak plan and remove all off the contaminated areas to fully protect the community and the environment.”
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Toni Granato Administrative Assistant New Jersey Sierra Club office:(609) 656-7612 https://www.facebook.com/NJSierraClub @NJSierraClub and @StopPilgrimNYNJ on Twitter
Received on 2016-03-14 14:55:40