EPA weighs decision on Meadowlands site
Part of property could be moved off Superfund list
Forty years after it was declared a Superfund site, a portion of the Universal Oil Products property that helped turn the Meadowlands into a toxic stew may soon be taken off the list of most toxic sites in the nation, federal regulators said Thursday.
The “cleanup goals” have been met for an area of the site in East Rutherford off Route 17 that now houses a shopping center with a Lowe’s store and Chili’s restaurant, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials said.
But before the agency can remove the section from the federal National Priorities List, it first must obtain and review public comments about the possible move.
Universal Oil Products is one of the oldest Superfund sites in New Jersey, with pollution dating back to 1930 on the 75-acre site near Paterson Plank Road.
Chemical manufacturing ceased in 1979, but the area was so contaminated by then that it was one of the first toxic sites in New Jersey to be named to the Superfund list in 1983.
It is one of three Superfund sites that helped severely contaminate the Meadowlands, which has recovered significantly in recent decades thanks in part to the cleanups.
As with most Superfund sites, largescale plans to remove and remediate polluted soil and groundwater moved at a slow pace. Millions of gallons of water was treated and thousands of truckloads of soil were carted away. Last year, EPA officials said the cleanup reached a milestone when they declared that groundwater pollution levels were low enough that more work was not needed.
After sites are removed from the Superfund program, EPA staffers conduct follow-up reviews every five years to see if the site has become a threat again to people and the environment.
The public comment period is from Aug. 16 to Sept. 15.
Comments can be sent to Shereen Kandil, community involvement coordinator, at kandil.shereen@epa.gov.