After cleanup work was completed and after a review of years of groundwater monitoring data, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to delete the Reich Farms Superfund Site from the National Priorities List and requests public comments on this proposed action.
The National Priorities List is the EPA’s list of sites that are priorities for long-term evaluation and response under Superfund. Previous activities at the site, located in Toms River, New Jersey, included the improper disposal and storage of hazardous waste that contaminated soil and groundwater with toxic chemicals such as volatile organic compounds.
“All cleanup work at Reich Farms has been successfully completed and years of monitoring data show that it can be safely removed from the EPA’s Superfund list,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. “Over many decades, EPA has overseen cleanup work at this site and has kept the community informed as well as engaged in our cleanup activities, monitoring, and scientific studies. Deletion of this site is the next logical step.”
The three-acre Reich Farms property, which comprises part of the overall site, is located on Lakewood Road in the Pleasant Plains section of Toms River. The property is surrounded by commercial and residential areas. Deletion of a site from the National Priorities List occurs when site cleanups are successfully completed, and no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment, as is the case for this site.
In the early 1970s, drums containing wastes from Union Carbide Corporation’s (UCC) Bound Brook chemical manufacturing facility were disposed of on the property. UCC, the potentially responsible party, removed the drums and some contaminated soil in 1971. Residual wastes leaked from the drums contaminating the soil and eventually the underlying groundwater with organic chemicals. In September 1983, EPA placed the site on its National Priorities List of Superfund sites.
Measure to Require State Agencies Consider Equipment Powered by Fuel Cells
Seeking to incentivize the adoption of equipment powered by hydrogen fuel cells, Governor Phil Murphy has signed into law (A740) that requires State agencies awarding contracts for the purchase of equipment to consider items powered by fuel cells.
Previously, the law was approved by the full Assembly 74-0-0 and by the Senate 36-0-0.
The bill’s sponsors, Assemblymen Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) and Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), released the following joint statement:
“Fuel cells have great potential and are demonstrating tremendous value as a clean energy source in New Jersey. Fuel cells are a highly efficient and reliable alternative to fossil fuels that challenge our conventional understanding of energy and fuel sources. We are seeing smart businesses across the state embrace fuel cells from a sustainability, cost, and resiliency perspective. By ensuring that State agencies make innovation a priority, this law will stimulate greater use of fuel cells across New Jersey that will benefit both our economy and the environment.”
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has announced that 65.7 percent of paper consumed in the U.S. was recycled in 2020. The paper recycling rate was only slightly higher in 2019 at 66.2 percent overall.
According to a news release from AF&PA, the paper recycling rate has met or exceeded 63 percent since 2009. The association says this is nearly double the rate the U.S. paper industry achieved in 1990.
AF&PA reports that U.S. mill consumption of old corrugated containers (OCC) reached a record high in 2020 at 22.8 million tons. The recycling rate for OCC was 88.8 percent, and the three-year average was 92.4 percent. AF&PA reports that the recycling rate for OCC was at 92.0 percent in 2019.
“In an unprecedented and dynamic year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, almost two-thirds of paper was recycled and transformed into new sustainable paper products,” says AF&PA President and CEO Heidi Brock. “The resilience and commitment of our industry is notable, as is engagement of consumers in the paper recycling process. The result is a consistent and high rate for paper recycling. Paper recycling continues to be a success, and the U.S. paper industry plays an essential role.
She continues, “Our industry leadership remains strong with $4.1 billion in manufacturing infrastructure investments, announced, planned or made, from 2019 to 2023, to continue the best use of recycled fiber in our products.”
One of the world’s biggest food festivals is returning for the first time in more than two years. And it’s opening up shop in the Garden State. Smorgasburg, the massive weekly food festival that has previously operated only in New York and Los Angeles, will open in Jersey City on May 29, co-founder Eric Demby told Eater New York. A 40,000-square-foot parking lot at 195 Hudson Street in the city’s Exchange Place neighborhood will host the event, which will run every Saturday until at least October. NJ.com
Composting, packaging and circular economy-oriented organizations and trade groups have formed the U.S. Composting Infrastructure Coalition to advocate for expanding and increasing access to “robust programs that divert food waste, yard trimmings, and certified compostable packaging.”
The group’s initial push is to advocate for national funding programs that support a range of composting infrastructure projects. A federal bill in the works would provide approximately $200 million across a decade for grants and low-interest loans for such projects, say leaders of the newly formed coalition.
The coalition — which includes the National Waste & Recycling Association and US Composting Council, among others — says the Biden administration’s enthusiasm for climate change mitigation strategies, environmental justice action, and investing in infrastructure makes now a particularly apt time for such a push.
The coalition’s spectrum of stakeholders say composting can positively impact rural and urban communities alike, while also benefiting both the economy and the environment. The coalition also makes the point that by diverting materials from landfills or incinerators, the U.S. can mitigate the disproportionate impact those facilities have on low-income or communities of color.
Frank Franciosi, executive director of the US Composting Council, said the coalition has been in the works for the past year. People want to compost their food scraps and compostable packaging, and “there’s just not enough infrastructure, period,” he said.
The coalition, first announced last week, consists of seven groups: the US Composting Council, Plant Based Products Council, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Biodegradable Products Institute, Foodservice Packaging Institute, National Waste & Recycling Association and Corn Refiners Association.
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The grant awards help underserved communities Build Back Better and address Environmental Justice concerns
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that four New Jersey entities have been selected to receive a total of $1.9 million to assess and clean up contaminated properties under the agency’s Brownfields Program. Nationwide, 151 communities will receive 154 grant awards totaling $66.5 million in EPA Brownfields funding through its Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grants.
This funding will support underserved and economically disadvantaged communities across the country in assessing and cleaning up contaminated and abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Approximately 50 percent of selected recipients will be receiving EPA Brownfields Grant funding for the first time and more than 85 percent are located in or serving small communities.
“Cleaning up brownfields helps protect the environment and serves as a catalyst to jumpstart much-needed economic growth in New Jersey communities, often in historically underserved areas,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. “These grants address decades-old sources of pollution and bring together a broad spectrum of stakeholders who work in concert to make their communities better and more sustainable places to live, work and play.”
The selectees and projects in New Jersey are:
• Hainesport Township ($500,000 cleanup grant): Grant funds will be used to clean up the Former Paul’s Tank Cleaning Service site at 1225 Industrial Boulevard. The cleanup site operated from 1962 to 1982 as an industrial tank cleaning facility that cleaned out residual waste from tanks at schools, factories, and ships that operated on Philadelphia’s waterfront. Today, the site is a relatively flat and vacant parcel contaminated with PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, tetrachloroethene, and heavy metals. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities.
• New Jersey Economic Development Authority ($300,000 assessment grant): Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 10 environmental site assessments in Paterson, Perth Amboy, and Bayonne. Grant funds also will be used to develop two conceptual designs for the City of Bridgeton, prepare two cleanup plans, and conduct community outreach activities. Priority sites include the Allied Textile Printing site in Paterson, the Rudyk Park Expansion Areas 1 and 2 in Perth Amboy, the 5-acre Block 452.02 site in Bayonne, which was part of a former Standard Oil complex, and a 28-acre former dump in Bridgeton.
• City of Salem ($800,000 multipurpose grant): Grant funds will be used to conduct six environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to clean up sites in the target area, prepare one site reuse vision and three reuse plans, and conduct community outreach activities. The target area is Salem’s historic Waterfront Industrial Zone. Priority sites include the Tri-County Oil site at 1 Front Street, the 6-acre Aluchem heavy industrial site at W. Broadway, and the McCarthy’s Bar site at 190 Griffith Street.
• City of Trenton ($300,000 assessment grant): Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments and prepare four cleanup plans. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community engagement activities. Trenton plans to prioritize former dry cleaner sites in the city, including Eagle Cleaning and Dyeing, Bell Boy Cleaners, Suds Brothers, and Schofield Cleaners.
Today’s grant announcement includes:
$8.8 million for 11 Multipurpose Grants, which will provide funding to conduct a range of eligible assessment and cleanup activities at one or more brownfield sites in a target area.
$42.2 million for 107 Assessment Grants, which will provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach.
$15.5 million for 36 Cleanup Grants, which will provide funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the recipient.
EPA anticipates that it will award the grants once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied by the selected recipients. Since its inception in 1995, EPA’s Brownfields Program has provided nearly $1.76 billion in grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return them to productive reuse. This has led to significant benefits for communities across the country. For example,
To date, communities participating in the Brownfields Program have been able to attract more than $34.4 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding after receiving Brownfields funds. This has led to over 175,500 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment.
Based on grant recipient reporting, recipients leveraged on average $20.13 for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 10.3 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.
In addition, an academic peer-reviewed study has found that residential properties near brownfield sites increased in value by 5% to 15.2% as a result of cleanup activities.
Finally, analyzing data near 48 brownfields, EPA found an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue for local governments in a single year after cleanup—2 to 7 times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of those brownfield sites.
