Passaic River Clean-Up Plan: Update After 4 Years
By: Nick Jachim, Bridget Bakie
Tags: Environmental Issues, Superfund, Epa, New Jersey, Pollution

It’s been exactly four years since the EPA announced its $1.4 billion clean-up plan for the Passaic River, which is still one of the most expensive superfund clean-up projects in the history of the EPA. Yet, it seems as no progress has been made since only one of 105 listed polluters agreed to contribute to the funding last fall.

The Passaic River is one of the most severely polluted rivers in the country. The pollution began at the very start of the Industrial Revolution, when factories were placed around the river in Paterson near the Great Falls. The Great Falls is a large waterfall along the Passaic river and is credited as the location that started the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the river has the longest history of industrial pollution of any other body of water in America. The waterfall was the ideal location for industry because it was close to large resident populations and could be used for energy, as well as cheap by-product dumping.

Although the pollution of the Passaic River has been developing over centuries, one of the most concerning chemicals present in the river was dumped there in the 1960s. It is known as dioxin, a by-product of Agent Orange.

In the 1960s, the Diamond Alkali chemical production plant located next to the river in Newark, New Jersey, loaded mass amounts of dioxin, into the lower section of the river. Much of the industry at fault for polluting the river was located near the end of the river, but chemical byproducts were shown to have spread all the way up the river, especially after Hurricane Sandy.

Clean-up plans will be put on hold until polluters provide enough money for it to go through, but it looks like most organizations at fault will not be voluntarily cooperating in the near future, and the EPA says it is considering suing polluters to receive the funding.

Regarding these potential lawsuits, Seth Victor, New Jersey environmental lawyer and Montclair State University professor of Environmental Justice says,

“The EPA files lawsuits regularly, so that wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. Public interest groups will pay attention to what arguments are raised, which might suggest how serious the EPA really is about going after private actors.”

Willow Hall, the home of the Passaic River Coalition, a non-profit that advocates for the total cleanup of the river’s dangerous pollution. The building is located along the river in Morristown, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Jachim)

Although it’s one of the most expensive Superfund clean-ups, their plan is to dredge only the lower 8.3 miles of the river followed by inserting a capping. Capping is when pollutants or polluted ground is sealed in place, usually with a type of clay. Capping is sometimes used in superfund projects when the pollution is so severe that it is believed to be too difficult to fully remove.

Laurie Howard, head of the Passaic River Coalition says that the Coalition is against capping the river, and believes it should be fully dredged.

Laurie Howard is the president of the Passaic River Coalition. (Photo by Nick Jachim)

“The reason we don’t believe in it is because it’s never been done before in the world. It’s been done on non-tidal rivers, but this is a tidal river. So what do you think happens when we have a Sandy [level hurricane]? It moves up, and what happens to the cap?”

When asked what he thinks of capping solutions, Victor says, “The biggest danger in capping pollutants is that we are leaving them in place without actual remediation. Proponents of capping will say that the harmful pollutants are being isolated from spreading; personally, I’m skeptical.”

A community river cleanup hosted by the Passaic River Coalition in 2018 (Photo by Michael P. Bissel)

Victor says that with a proper budget provided by polluters, the EPA would be doing a full clean-up of the entire river.

“We are balancing cost vs. health. Coincidentally, that’s the same debate we are having now with reopening the country during COVID-19. In an environmental justice aspect, in a critical view, Passaic County has a lot of minority, low-income population, which when the federal government gets involved, does not get the same attention as high-rises in Manhattan. The danger here is that we are not truly curing the problem; we are doing the cheapest remediation that balances health and money, with the scales tipping towards cost-saving.”

Victor continues to say, “Ultimately what to pay attention to here is whether this money can fix the problem (questionable), whether the clean-up goes far enough (also questionable), and if the government is enthusiastically trying to hold private polluters accountable (again, questionable).”

“Ultimately what to pay attention to here is whether this money can fix the problem…” -Seth Victor

Careless and illegal polluting, by corporations and people, has made the Passaic River a recognized Superfund site. (Photo by Nick Jachim)

One of Howard’s biggest concerns is the contaminants spreading further along the river, and further into the ground during the waiting time for these polluters to be held accountable. She says that many of the companies on the polluter list have filed for bankruptcy or refuse to communicate with the Passaic River Coalition and other local environmental organizations, and because of this, she fears for the safety of locals until the contaminants are properly taken care of.

“Most people don’t understand the connection between the water and the land, that what you do with your water affects your land, and vice versa.”