Eric Moses, a spokesman for OxyChem, a chemical manufacturer, addressed Federal Newswire on Jan. 25, stating that the proposed settlement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is insufficient to address the cleanup of the Passaic River. The DOJ announced in November an extension to the timeline for the proposed settlement regarding the cleanup of New Jersey's Passaic River, which is part of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site.
"DOJ’s proposed changes to its settlement do nothing to advance actual river cleanup," said Moses. "EPA and DOJ still propose to let 82 companies—instead of 85 – walk away for pennies on the dollar. Significantly, DOJ’s and EPA’s revisions do not add any commitment or promise by EPA to use the settlement funds for Passaic River remediation—as opposed to EPA’s administrative costs."
According to a Nov. 2023 court filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey from Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, the DOJ evaluated public comments submitted in early 2023 and determined that aspects of the settlement or consent decree "should be modified." The changes will include removing "a small number of parties" from the settlement, according to a copy of the filing. Kim stated that the DOJ will file a Motion to Enter the updated consent decree by Jan. 31, 2024 and will not open an additional public comment period.
The DOJ initially released its proposed consent decree in Dec. 2022, according to a press release. The initial proposal would have required 85 parties allegedly responsible for pollution at Diamond Alkali Superfund site to pay a total of $150 million toward its cleanup.
On Jan. 16, the New Jersey Senate approved a resolution urging the EPA to use the settlement exclusively for remediation costs of the contaminated site, limiting the amount that could be put towards administrative costs. Senate President Nick Scutari, who sponsored the amendment, said in a statement, "It is important that the EPA recognizes the vital need New Jersey has to clean contaminated Superfund sites. The settlement funds should be used for remediation work at the sites and the portion of the settlements used for the agency’s administrative costs should be strictly limited. The actual clean-up work should be the priority."
The consent decree proposed in 2022 would release polluting companies from liability for cleaning up the Superfund site, instead requiring them to only pay $150 million of an estimated $1.38 billion required for remediation, according to a press release from New Jersey Senate. It was unclear whether this sum would be allocated towards remediation or EPA administrative costs.
According to Passaic River Clean-Up website, taxpayers in 42 New Jersey towns could potentially bear the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars required to clean up the Superfund site. The website notes that OxyChem "made a series of offers to the EPA" in 2022, proposing designs and initiation of EPA's approach to cleaning Passaic River but these offers were not accepted by EPA. It also states that under proposed consent decree none of companies allegedly responsible for polluting river are required to participate in its cleanup.
Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) is a global chemical manufacturer, as per ChemPoint. The company produces chemicals used in various products including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and disinfectants. Headquartered in Texas, OxyChem operates throughout United States and in six other countries.
