Legal Updates

In response to the Superfund Task Force Recommendations issued earlier this year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Scott Pruitt, recently identified 21 Superfund sites nationwide that it believes will benefit from the “direct engagement” of the EPA Administrator. The EPA has indicated that these sites, which are regulated by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), have identifiable actions to protect human health and the environment and that the Administrator will henceforth receive regular updates on their remediation status. Three of the Superfund Sites identified are located in New Jersey, the most of any other state.

The EPA’s announcement indicated that the list is intended to be dynamic, and sites will move on and off the list as the agency finds appropriate. However, while this list is intended to accelerate the clean-ups of these 21 Superfund Sites, the announcement clearly states that the list does not give rise to a commitment of additional funding associated with the named sites. 

The three New Jersey Superfund Sites identified are the American Cyanamid Site in Bridgewater, the Berry’s Creek Study Area (including the six mile Berry’s Creek waterway), and the Diamond Alkali Site (including the 17 miles of the lower Passaic River, and the Newark Bay Study Area). It is yet unclear what impact the inclusion of these sites on the Targeted List will have on their ongoing investigation and clean-up.