(New York, N.Y ) After successfully completing all cleanup work and putting into place long-term controls to ensure that people's health and the environment continues to be protected, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to remove the Crown Vantage Landfill Superfund site in Alexandria Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey from the federal Superfund list. The inactive 10-acre landfill was contaminated with semi-volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other pollutants that can seriously impact people's health if significant exposure occurs. A small portion of the landfill sits on the eastern bank of the Delaware River. All cleanup goals that EPA set for the site have been met and a review of conditions confirms people are not exposed to the pollutants in the landfill.

The EPA took steps to ensure that the remaining pollutants at the site are contained by an existing forested cover and a wall that stabilizes the section of the landfill along the Delaware River. The EPA required new deed restrictions that prevent activities that could disturb the site and prohibit any future on-site construction. Long-term monitoring will ensure that the cover and stabilization wall continue to prevent direct contact with underlying waste and protect against erosion.

"Landfills produce a legacy of pollution that must be controlled long after they stop accepting waste," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "At Crown Vantage, EPA removed several thousand drums of hazardous waste, covered the landfill and shored up the banks to protect people's health. Even after this site is removed from the Superfund list, the EPA will ensure that the cleanup continues to be protective."

Crown Vantage was used as a landfill from the 1930s and until the early 1970s. The landfill reportedly was utilized for the disposal of waste by the adjacent Curtis Specialty Papers mill, as well as by other nearby Riegel Paper Company facilities.

EPA has completed all cleanup work at the Crown Vantage site. Approximately 2,450 drums and waste were removed from the landfill, and the area was filled with clean material. A wall that stabilizes the landfill and prevents materials from reaching the Delaware River was constructed and fencing and signs were installed to keep trespassers from disturbing the surface of the site.

Now that the cleanup is complete, the EPA will conduct reviews every five years to evaluate if the completed work remains protective of human health and the environment. In addition, the EPA will monitor the site and, if conditions at the site change, reserves the right to take future actions under the Superfund program.

Comments on the proposed deletion of the site from the Superfund list may be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov, by e-mail to hess.alison@epa.gov or by mail to the attention of Alison Hess, Remedial Project Manager, Emergency and Remedial Response Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866.

Comments should identify the Docket ID no., EPA-HQ-SFUND- 2005-0002 and should be submitted by May 29, 2015.

For further information, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/crownvantage.

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