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Treatment Plant Construction On Schedule Sites in Buena Borough; EPA Is Paying $11.5 Million For Cleanup Work

Release Date: 11/13/1997
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(#97155) NEW YORK -- Representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joined Mayor Gene A. Iannetti of Buena Borough today to view the progress of construction on a building that will house a treatment system to reduce chemical contamination in the groundwater near the South Jersey Clothing Company (SJCC) and Garden State Cleaners (GSC) Superfund sites in Minotola, Atlantic County, New Jersey. The demolition of an existing building at the SJCC site was recently completed to create space for the new plant, which will be operational by late next summer. The Philadelphia District of the Army Corps is overseeing all the construction activities.

EPA has budgeted a total of $11.5 million for cleanup that will be used to finance a series of federal actions in the coming months aimed at reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination in the groundwater at both sites and soils at SJCC. Installation of the groundwater treatment system will begin early next year once the building exterior is completed. EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox said, "This action is an excellent demonstration of how the federal Superfund program provides assistance to local communities that lack the resources to deal with serious pollution problems. EPA's Trust Fund for hazardous waste site cleanups is paying for the work."

A soil vapor extraction system will also be installed adjacent to the new building. It is similar to one used recently to clean up the contaminated soils at the nearby GSC site. These extraction and treatment systems will remove VOC contamination from the groundwater at both sites and soils at the SJCC. Sevenson Environmental Services, Inc. of Niagara Falls, New York did the demolition and is doing the construction work. Funds from the federal Superfund Trust will cover 90% of the demolition and construction costs and the state of New Jersey will fund the remaining 10%.

The SJCC and GSC sites were added to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989, and are located one block apart. EPA addressed the sites in a combined investigation due to their proximity to one another and the similarity of the contamination, VOCs in groundwater and soil.

For more information contact:
Richard Cahill, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3666 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: cahill.richard@epamail.epa.gov