(New York, N.Y.) The E.P.A. has suggested a project to clean up contaminated groundwater at the Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund location in Milford and Alexandria Township, New Jersey. The location includes the 86-acre historic former Milford Mill, which converted paper pulp to paper for 96 years before shutting down in 2003.
The Superfund plan operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. The E.P.A. searches for parties legally responsible for the contamination at sites that are placed on the Superfund list and it looks for to hold those parties accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups. The cleanup of the Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund location 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 location 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 location including PCB-contaminated soil, buildings and structures, and debris, among other risks. The EPA's suggested project addresses the volatile organic compounds in the groundwater, the final part of the location that requires a cleanup under Superfund. In the suggested plan, E.P.A. is proposing bioremediation, monitoring and limiting the use of the groundwater to protect people's health.
The E.P.A. will hold a public meeting on May 28, 2015 to explain the suggested project 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 E.P.A. Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "EPA's suggested project to address groundwater contamination at the location represents the last chapter in this cleanup. The E.P.A. encourages the public to attend the May 28 meeting at Milford and share their views on the suggested plan."
In 2007, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection turned the location over to the E.P.A. and the E.P.A. added the location to its federal Superfund list in 2009.
From 2007 to 2014, E.P.A. 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 6 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 suggested project 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 E.P.A. 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 suggested project also would prohibit the use of groundwater from the location as drinking water through restrictions.
Written comments about the suggested project may be mailed or emailed to:
Alison Hess, Remedial Plan Manager
E.P.A.
290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, New York 10007
[email protected]
The project for the location will be accessible at
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/curtisspecialtypapers/
Follow E.P.A. Region two on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page,
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