EPA prioritizing efficiency over safety
By Tanaz Meghjani April 16, 2022
Seven superfund sites in New Jersey have been selected for cleanup by the Environmental Protection Agency. These seven sites along with 42 others across the country will receive funding from a billion-dollar pot created by President Biden’s infrastructure plan, averaging out to over $20 million per site. But of all the superfund sites in New Jersey, the seven that were selected are not necessarily most in need of cleanup.
Superfund sites are areas where hazardous waste is dumped, and New Jersey is home to 114 – more sites than any other state. The average hazardous site score in New Jersey, which represents the likelihood of hazardous substances spreading from the site and threatening human health or the environment, is 45.24. 61 of New Jersey’s sites have above average scores, and even more have been waiting to be cleaned for more than 30 years.
And yet, only two of the seven selected sites have above average site scores and only two others have been listed as superfund sites for over 30 years.
What the seven sites do have in common is that they’re all "shovel ready," or at a stage where they can begin hiring workers and treating the site immediately. They were selected because treating them would be the most efficient, but there are many other sites in New Jersey that are at greater risk of contaminating nearby communities.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2019 that more frequent and intense natural disasters driven by climate change could damage superfund facilities, allowing hazardous substances to leak into communities.
82 active superfund sites in New Jersey face some combination of threat from sea level rise, storms, or wildfires, including 12 that are plagued by all three.
Only one of those twelve sites will receive funding for cleanup under the infrastructure plan. Three other sites selected for cleanup face just one threat each and the remaining three are among the minority of sites that are at no risk of destruction due to climate change.
In the coming years, an additional $2.5 billion will go towards superfund cleanup projects under the infrastructure law and will hopefully target sites that pose the greatest risk to the communities they’re in.
The data used in this story come from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Government Accountability Office.