Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: (X) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Support
Purpose: Resolution Supporting Remediation of the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site
Date: October 1, 2025
Sponsor(s): Council Member-at-Large, Luis A. Quintana
Additional Information:
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WHEREAS, the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site (the "Site") (Superfund Site No. NJD980528996) is located in New Jersey and is compromised of approximately the lower 18 miles of the Passaic River and the Newark Bay complex; and
WHEREAS, the Site was listed on the National Priorities List in 1984, primarily due to decades of intentional illegal discharges of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (a form of dioxin) to the Lower Passaic River from a chemical plant located at 80-120 Lister Avenue, Newark, New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, 2,3,7,8-TCDD is one of the most toxic chemicals ever made, and unfortunately the Lower Passaic River has some of the highest concentrations of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the world; and
WHEREAS, although other contaminants are also present in the Lower Passaic River, as is the case with many industrial waterways, the levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in the river are driving cleanup activities, and no additional cleanup measures beyond those designed to address 2,3,7,8-TCDD are needed for the other contaminant; and
WHEREAS, the remediation of 2,3,7,8-TCDD will eliminate the endangerment to human health and the environmental associated with the Lower Passaic River and restore a critical water resource within a large and diverse lower income community; and
WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") issued its final Record of Decision containing the selected remedy for the cleanup of the lower approximately 8.3 miles of the Passaic River, known as "Operable Unit 2," in 2016, after decades of study of the Site; and
WHEREAS, while multiple options for the cleanup of Operable Unit 2 were considered, USEPA ultimately ...
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