WASHINGTON BOROUGH—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing at $92 million settlement with several companies to address the Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination Superfund site in Warren County, according to a press release issued by the EPA today.
The Pohatcong Valley Superfund site, which covers roughly 9,800 acres in the county, is contaminated with trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene and was therefore, added to the federal Superfund list in 1989, according to the EPA.
These contaminants, both of which can have serious health impacts — including liver damage and increased risk of cancer— were detected in public supply wells, which are now treated to meet drinking water standards before the water is distributed, the release stated.
The companies involved in the settlement are Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Inc., Albéa Americas, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Citigroup Inc. and Rexam Beverage Can Company.
Under the proposed settlement, Pechiney, which previously owned and operated the American National Can facility in Washington, will have primary responsibility for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater at the site, the EPA stated.
Additionally, Pechiney will connect some residents to public water to avoid contaminated groundwater, operate systems to capture vapors that are getting into a manufacturing facility and will continue to monitor for vapor intrusion into homes at the site, according to the release.
"Pechiney will also perform current and future cleanup work estimated to cost $62.5 million, and will pay EPA’s future oversight costs," the EPA stated in the release.
As part of the settlement, the EPA will recover civil penalties from Pechiney to resolve allegations that Pechiney violated a previous EPA order by failing to make satisfactory progress on a portion of the cleanup at the site, according to the EPA.
Pechiney will pay a cash penalty of $282,000. Pechiney will also restore and preserve approximately 60 acres of land, valued at $1.1 million, in Warren County through a Supplemental Environmental Project, according to the release.
This land will be converted to native grassland and will become part of the Morris Canal Greenway, the EPA stated, to be managed by Warren County through its existing relationship with the New Jersey Youth Corps of Phillipsburg.
The proposed settlement will be subject to a 30-day public comment period upon the publication of a notice in the Federal Register.Once it is published, a copy of the Federal Register notice with instructions about how to comment can be found online.
The settlement requires approval by the United States District Court before becoming final.
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Emily Cummins may be reached at ecummins@njnpublishing.com.com Follow her on Twitter @EmilyACummins Find The Warren Reporter on Facebook.