Dredging Proposed For New Jersey River

In one of the largest Superfund cleanups ever proposed, EPA has unveiled a $1.7 billion plan to remove 4.3 million cubic yards of toxic sediment from the bottom of the Passaic River in New Jersey. The bank-to-bank dredging project would target the lower 8 miles of the waterway, from Belleville to Newark, which remains heavily contaminated with dioxin, PCBs, heavy metals, and other pollutants left behind by more than a century of industrial activity. “All of the companies that put the contaminants in the water will be paying for the full cleanup,” EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck says. The agency says about 100 companies are potentially liable under the federal Superfund law. The plan could take decades to implement, however, as court challenges will likely delay and complicate the cleanup effort.