For Immediate Release
March 26, 2010 Contact: Jeff Tittel, Director, 609-558-9100
Sierra Club Urges EPA to Take Over DuPont Site Cleanup
As EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson visits the DuPont site today in Pompton Lakes, the Sierra Club is urging the EPA to take over cleanup of the site and nominate it to the Superfund list.
The site is complex and the current cleanup by the DEP has been a failure. The toxic plume and the pollution from the site have spread throughout the community and recent flooding may have worsened the situation. We urge Administrator Jackson to put it on the Superfund list to protect both the health and environment of the Pompton Lakes community.
"We're glad EPA Administrator Jackson is here to see what's happening in Pompton Lakes. She'll find out that her old agency, the DEP, is the problem and the EPA has to step in," NJ Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said.
The DEP has mishandled cleanup at the site from the beginning and has acted arrogant and incompetent towards the people of Pompton Lakes. The only way Pompton Lakes will be protected from the pollution is if the EPA takes it over and places it on the National Priority List of Superfund sites.
At a public meeting just a few months ago, the DEP had a condescending tone, demonstrating an utter contempt for the citizens and the problems they face as a result of this polluted site.
"DEP has mishandled this site for 20 years. Conditions there have gotten worse and are putting people in harms way," Tittel said. "The EPA has to take over the site. It's the only way it will be cleaned up and the people of Pompon Lakes will have any justice."
A recent study by the Department of Health showed a "significantly" higher level of certain cancers that can be directly tied to the types of chemicals in the groundwater that permeate Pompton Lakes. The groundwater contains volatile organic chemicals like DCE and these vapors are getting into people's homes. Dupont has had since 1990 to clean up this site. The health study and the evidence of widespread pollutants throughout the community demonstrate the need to have EPA take on direct oversight.
This site contains Highlands groundwaters that have special protections under the Highlands Act. These groundwaters affect Pompton Lakes and beyond. More importantly, this site directly affects the water supply intake on the Pompton Lake, one of major sources of drinking water in that part of New Jersey. Water supply intake from on the Ramapo at Pompton Lake affects the Wanaque and the Oradell. Though the concentrations of chemicals may be small, they shouldn't be there at all.
"The current plans for both cleanup and mitigation are wholly inadequate. The only way this can be resolved is getting the EPA involved and placing this site on the National Priority List of Superfund sites," Tittel said.
Kara Seymour, Program Assistant NJ Sierra Club
145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618
609.656.7612
(f) 609.656.7618
<http://www.newjersey.sierraclub.org> www.newjersey.sierraclub.org
Received on 2010-03-26 09:34:54