Pascrell Announces Funds from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Support Superfund Efforts in Garfield, Kearny

Contaminated sites through North Jersey to receive federal environmental cleanup funds

PATERSON, NJ – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) announced today that New Jersey will receive funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Congress passed in November to initiate cleanup at an orphan Superfund sites in the Ninth Congressional District: the Garfield Groundwater Contamination site in Garfield. Rep. Pascrell supported President Biden’s infrastructure and jobs bill in November, which provides $1 billion for environmental cleanup at Superfund sites nationwide.

“New Jersey is home to the highest concentration of Superfund sites in the nation. While our state has many proud achievements, this is not one of them. Fortunately, as a result of our Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Superfund sites here in New Jersey like the contaminated groundwater site in Garfield, and across America will receive the federal support they need,” said Rep. Pascrell. “Clean air, water, and soil are essential to our health. If we fail to preserve our natural resources, our health will suffer as a result. I’m proud that I was able to play a role in securing this environmental funding for our state and I’ll continue bringing home funds like that that protect our environment and defend against the effects of climate change.”

At the Garfield Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site at the E.C. Electroplating, Inc. property, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill funds will be used to treat hexavalent chromium in groundwater by a combination of cleanup measures to address the problem in the long term, including treatment of the contaminated groundwater with a non-hazardous additive that will reduce the contamination, and restrictions on the use of the groundwater. EPA initiated removal action of tanks and soil contaminants in fall 2011. Because it is an orphan site, EPA did not have funding for the site for remedial action to be completed.

Rep. Pascrell’s efforts to protect our environment and combat climate change stem from his mission to leave a better world for future generations. Pascrell is also a cosponsor of the Superfund Polluter Pays Act would reinstate the Superfund tax to make sure polluters pay for the cleanup of Superfund sites. A version of this plan is included in the House-passed Build Back Better Act.

From working with federal officials to clean up the Hackensack River, to sweeping federal efforts like the Green New Deal, Rep. Pascrell continues to work with his colleagues in every level of government to combat climate change head-on and preserve our cherished natural resources. Rep. Pascrell recently introduced the Zero-Emission Nuclear Power Production Credit Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation to aid America’s non-emitting electric generation plants