EPA Adds the Matlack, Inc. Site in Woolwich Township, New Jersey to the Superfund List

EPA News Release:

EPA Adds the Matlack, Inc. Site in Woolwich Township, New Jersey to the Superfund List

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – May 21, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added the Matlack, Inc. site in Woolwich Township, New Jersey to the Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The site is a former truck terminal at which operations included truck maintenance and truck, trailer and tanker washing. As a result of past industrial activities, the soil and ground water are contaminated with volatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Many volatile organic compounds are known to cause cancer in animals and can cause cancer in people. PCBs are chemicals that persist in the environment and can affect the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems and are potentially cancer-causing. Contamination from this site is impacting the Grand Sprute Run stream and nearby wetlands that have been identified among New Jersey’s most significant natural areas.

EPA proposed to add the site to the Superfund list in September 2012 and encouraged the public to comment during a 60-day public comment period. After considering public comments and receiving the support of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to list the site, the EPA is putting it on the Superfund list.

“Placing the Matlack site on the Superfund list is an important step in protecting people’s health and allowing EPA to take action to clean up the site,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “By adding the site to the Superfund list, the EPA can do the extensive investigation needed to determine the best ways to address the contamination and protect public health.”

Located on Route 322 in Woolwich, New Jersey the site operated as a truck terminal from 1962 to 2001. Previous activities at the 70-acre facility included the cleanup of trucks and tankers used for transporting a variety of materials including flammable and corrosive liquids. The polluted cleaning solution was disposed of in an unlined lagoon behind the terminal building from 1962 until 1976 when Matlack Inc. began transporting the wastewater away from the site for disposal. The lagoon was subsequently filled with a variety of demolition debris and other material. Matlack discontinued the tanker cleaning operations in November 1997, but continued to service and store vehicles at the site until 2001 when it submitted a petition for bankruptcy. Sampling has shown that the soil in several areas of the site is contaminated with volatile organic compounds and PCBs. Sediment and water in Grand Sprute Run stream are contaminated with volatile organic compounds and sampling shows that the ground water beneath the site is contaminated with the industrial cleaning chemical trichloroethylene.

The EPA periodically proposes sites to the Superfund list and, after responding to public comments, designates them as final Superfund sites. The Superfund final designation makes them eligible for funds to conduct long-term cleanups.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. After sites are placed on the Superfund list of the most contaminated waste sites, the EPA searches for parties responsible for the contamination and holds them accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups. The search for the parties responsible for the contamination at the Matlack, Inc. site is ongoing.