On April 11, 2014, at Newark Riverfront Park’s Orange Boardwalk, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its long-awaited cleanup plan for the lower eight miles of the Passaic River.
The proposal includes bank-to-bank dredging of the river and the removal of 4.3 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment. As per Superfund law, the clean-up will be funded by the companies responsible for the pollution. Newarkers and others have advocated for the river clean-up for decades; this announcement brings the dream of a clean, safe, and healthy river another step closer to reality.
On Wednesday, May 7, EPA held the first of three public hearings on the proposed clean-up of the Passaic River.
The other two are scheduled as follows:
– May 21, 2014, at 6:00 P.M. at Franklin School, 100 Davis Avenue, Kearny, NJ 07032;
– June 2014, Belleville, NJ, (specific date and location to be determined).
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Press Release, May 8, 2014