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Recovery Act Funding to Accelerate Cleanup, Boost Economy, Create Jobs and Protect Human Health at New Jersey Hazardous Waste Site; $25 million in Recovery Act funds added to cleanup at Imperial Oil Superfund Site

Release Date: 11/23/2009
Contact Information: Elias Rodriguez (732) 672-5520, (212) 637-3664, [email protected]

(New York, N.Y.) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was joined by federal, state and local officials as they noted important progress in the cleanup of the Imperial Oil Superfund site in Morganville, New Jersey. EPA announced in April that the site had received an infusion of $25 million in new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to accelerate the hazardous waste cleanup already underway at the site. This Recovery Act funding is part of the $600 million that Congress appropriated to the Federal Superfund remedial program. A public information session has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 7:00 pm, at Marlboro Municipal Building, 1979 Township Drive, to inform the community about progress at the site. All are welcome to attend.

“EPA has an answer to these challenging economic times,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Under the Recovery Act, we're getting harmful pollutants and dangerous chemicals out of these communities and putting jobs and investment back in.”

EPA will use the $25 million in Recovery Act funds allocated to this site to speed up the cleanup of the remaining contaminated soil components, which are the major source of contamination to the ground water beneath the site. Accelerating the cleanup of the site soils is expected to reduce the overall site cleanup cost and hasten the reuse/redevelopment of the site.

“The step by step progress we are making at the Imperial Oil Superfund site brings us closer to the eventual restoration and return of this land to the community for beneficial use,” said George Pavlou, Acting EPA Regional Administrator. “It is also worth noting that EPA is leading by example at this site by contracting to utilize 100 percent wind power to run its on-site facilities instead of tapping into the traditional electrical power grid.”

The Federal Superfund program was created in 1980 to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites that pose unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. Superfund sites are often found in industrial areas hardest hit by the recession. Superfund cleanups are major construction projects which employ thousands of workers nationwide. The Superfund program is implementing new or expanded cleanup actions at 50 sites around the country and since it began, the program has completed construction of remedies at more than 1,060 of the 1,596 sites on its National Priorities List.

By starting or speeding up cleanup at Superfund sites, Recovery Act funding is also increasing the speed with which these sites are returned to productive use. When a Superfund site is redeveloped, it can offer significant economic benefits to local communities including future job creation.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on February 17, 2009 and has directed the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at http://www.recovery.gov.

For more information on this and other sites funded through ARRA, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/region02/eparecovery For more information about the Imperial Oil site, go to https://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/imperialoil.

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