Project keeps Passaic River pollutants away from park in Lyndhurst
LYNDHURST — A recently completed barrier will keep contaminated mud in the banks of the Passaic River from washing into a nearby park during powerful storms, the project's managers said Monday.
The $20 million project also included dredging and removing almost 16,000 cubic yards of dioxin-laden mud from the river near the popular Riverside County Park, which had been flooded three times in recent years.
The project, completed two weeks ago, had been criticized by several environmentalists, community groups and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, who had called for the removal of all 120,000 cubic yards of contaminated mud from the river.
Instead, much of the pollution was left in the river, and the 5.5-acre area was covered by a 2-foot layer of rocks, sand, carbon and a synthetic sheet.
Environmental consultants who supervised the work said the project was successful because it prevents direct contact with the cancer-causing dioxin, PCBs and mercury that polluted the mudflats.
Referring to the cap laid over the mud, Bill Potter, a senior project manager with the national environmental firm De Maximis, said, "If you wanted to try, then, yes, it's safe to walk on it."
Some critics of the project said they now hope the cap will stand up to intense weather.
"It needs to be monitored extensively for the next several years to make sure that it doesn't erode," said Debbie Mans, co-chairwoman of a community advisory group.
The work was long delayed by cold weather and problems transporting the mud to a downriver treatment facility. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been finalizing plans for a $1.7 billion cleanup of the lower eight miles of the Passaic, which contains more than a century's worth of industrial pollution. Because the river is tidal, the pollution has washed upstream.
For decades, it was thought that the only large amount of dioxin in the river was next to the former Diamond Alkali plant in Newark, where the Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange was manufactured and dioxin was discharged.
But in late 2011, tests revealed high levels of dioxin at the surface of the river at a bend 10.9 miles north of Newark Bay, next to the park in Lyndhurst.
The river overflowed into the park during Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Riverside is a popular destination, with ball fields, tennis courts, a playground and walking trails just south of Route 3.
Tests conducted by the EPA showed that some dioxin, mercury and PCBs were flushed into the park during Sandy, though not at levels considered a public health threat.
Despite objections, the EPA said a combination of dredging and capping would ensure that the public did not come into direct contact with the pollution.
The project was paid for by the Cooperating Parties Group, a collection of 67 companies that either polluted the river or inherited the liability of past polluters.
Building the 2-foot-thick cap began by placing sand and carbon over the 5.5 acres, which is also contaminated with mercury and PCBs. Carbon absorbs contaminants.
"The carbon in the cap will prevent anything that might come through it from getting to the surface where people would be exposed to it," said John Rolfe, a project manager with De Maximis.
A synthetic sheet was then placed over the area to hold the sand and carbon in place. Finally a layer of rocks was placed on top.
The operation required the opening of 10 bridges to take equipment upriver to the site and send dredged mud downriver in barges to a processing facility in Kearny. The project was delayed 21 days due to older bridges failing to open, and 45 days due to weeks of freezing temperatures, which left much of the mudflats covered in ice.
The processed sediment was eventually taken by train to a landfill in Oklahoma and buried.