Another NJ site expected to join EPA’s Superfund list

Electroplating is the process of plating one metal onto another by hydrolysis, most commonly for decorative purposes or to prevent corrosion of a metal. There are also specific types of electroplating such as copper plating, silver plating, and chromium plating.

By Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey is home to more Superfund sites — the nation’s most polluted locations — than any other state in the country.

It could soon have one more.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it is proposing to add the Pioneer Metal Finishing, Inc. site in the Franklinville section of Gloucester County’s Franklin Township to the national Superfund list.

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The site is a former electroplating facility that began operations in 1955. For the first couple of decades, until the late ’70s, the facility discharged untreated waste containing metallics salts and sludge into an adjacent wetland. Today, soil in the area is contaminated with chromium, copper and nickel at levels that threat human health, as well as cancer-linked polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs.)

Electroplating work at the site stopped around 2005, according to the EPA. Today, the facility continues to be used for powder-coating operations.

“Proposing to add the Pioneer Metal Finishing Inc. site to the National Priorities List is an important first step toward protecting human health and the environment in affected communities,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez.“By elevating our focus on the Superfund program, we are making tremendous progress to accelerate cleanups and return sites to safe and productive use.”

Pioneer Metal’s inclusion on the Superfund list was requested by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection due to the scope of the contamination and the complexity of the required cleanup, DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said.

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Related news stories:
EPA adds Delaware site to Superfund list
EPA Proposes Change to Cleanup Plan for the Imperial Oil Superfund Site in Morganville, NJ
Covid-19 concerns halt Sherwin-Williams Superfund cleanup in Camden County, NJ
Rising seas puts hundreds of Superfund sites in NJ and PA at risk

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Trump proposes easing oil and gas permits in national forests

By Nichola Groom, Reuters

(Reuters) – The Trump administration on Monday issued a proposal that would make it easier to permit oil and gas drilling operations in national forests, angering environmental groups who said the move would harm wildlife and increase greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. Forest Service, an arm of the Department of Agriculture that oversees 192 million acres of national forests and grasslands, released proposed rules that would speed timelines for approving drilling leases and permits and for determining which lands are available to lease.

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The proposal is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, but a version was posted on a government website on Monday.

Forest Service officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Forest Service first said in 2018 that it planned to rewrite some of its rules to expedite oil and gas permits on forest lands. The moves are part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to boost fossil fuel production on public lands and waters.

The changes would make the leasing and permitting processes more efficient by reducing redundant procedures and would better align Forest Service regulations with those of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is primarily responsible for managing oil and gas drilling on public lands, the document said.

Environmental groups said the new rules would sidestep environmental reviews and reduce public involvement in the leasing process.

“This proposal would basically make the Forest Service a rubber stamp for the fossil fuel industry,” said Michael Saul, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

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EPA adds Delaware site to Superfund list

From an Environmental Protection Agency news release

PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 1, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its commitment today to clean up six new sites – including the Blades Groundwater Site in Delaware – by adding them to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

“Cleaning up toxic sites and returning them to safe and productive reuse under the Superfund program is critical to EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “By adding these sites to the National Priorities List, we are moving forward in creating a healthier environment for the affected communities.”

The NPL is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program.

“Superfund cleanup continues to be a top priority for EPA,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Today’s listing ensures that resources are available to take the necessary cleanup actions to address the contamination and any potential impacts on the Blades community.”

EPA originally proposed the Blades Groundwater Site, located in Sussex County, Delaware, adjacent to the Town of Seaford, to the NPL on Nov. 8, 2019. A 60-day public comment period followed, during which no adverse comments to the proposal were received. The designation is now finalized.

EPA’s next step will be to conduct a remedial investigation and feasibility study to determine the nature and extent of contamination, assess potential threats to human health and the environment, and evaluate various cleanup options after the nature and extent of contamination is understood.  Throughout the process, EPA will continue working closely with our State partner, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

“Today’s listing by the EPA will allow us to continue our joint work, now with Superfund authority to investigate and remediate the contamination in municipal and residential wells in Blades,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “While we have successfully treated the water supply with carbon filtration, additional remedial action will maintain the safe drinking water and protect human health and the environment in this community.”

The Blades Groundwater Site is being listed because industrial chemicals which can cause adverse effects to human health and the environment have been found in groundwater that is used as a source of drinking water.  The primary groundwater contaminants of concern in the Blades area are metals associated with electroplating compounds.  Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) have also been found in groundwater and were identified in public and residential supply wells.

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California lawmakers pass recycled content mandate but producer responsibility bills stall again

By E.A. Crunden, WasteDive

AB 793, a recycled content mandate, made it out of California’s legislature on the day’s last session. But the Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act (AB 1080 and SB 54), a major extended producer responsibility (EPR) packaging effort, failed for the second year in a row.

AB 793 passed the state Senate on Aug. 30 by 65-0 and is now headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Several supporters of the bill indicated they expect Newsom to sign after he vetoed a predecessor bill last year, AB 792, over concerns about burdening state regulators.

The bill would be the toughest of its kind globally per reporting by Plastics News, requiring 50% recycled content in plastic beverage bottles by 2030.

The identical EPR bills were less successful — AB 1080 passed the Senate but did not make it back for Assembly concurrence in time, while SB 54 fell shy by four Assembly votes due to moderate Democrats abstaining, according to CalMatters.

Those bills also did not make it to a final vote in 2019 amid pushback from major packaging interests and some industry players including Waste Management, despite support from Republic Services and Recology.  

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NJ to allow towns to borrow for COVID

By Daniel J. Munoz, NJBIZ

Murphy approved a bill Monday evening that will let towns, cities and counties borrow money to offset losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, and handle the cost of dealing with the virus.

The new law, Assembly Bill 3971, allows towns to borrow money equaling up to 30 percent of their budget, backed by local tax revenue and, under a request from Murphy, payable over five years rather than a decade.

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