#hackensackriver

Making America Great Again by Gutting the EPA?

The Hackensack River was on the verge of making it on to the Superfund National Priorities Listing (NPL) through the EPA, and was a shoe-in for approval prior to the November election. Now, the River’s listing and the Superfund monies that accompany it are in danger of disappearing. The contamination that will remain as a result of that potential breakdown contains substances like cadmium, lead, mercury, and dioxin, to name just a few.  

President Trump’s proposed budget has the EPA losing approximately 31% of its funding, including funds earmarked for Superfund cleanups, if approved. The EPA is the hardest hit agency under the proposed Federal budget, followed by the State Department at an approximately 29% cut. Even a lesser cut to the EPA, like the 7% cut suggested by Congress, would cripple the already lean-running agency. In fact, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the EPA has accounted for 0.5% or less per year of the total Federal budget each of the past twenty years. Putting aside for the moment what such a drastic cut means for the general health and protection of the environment, the effect on the Superfund program could be catastrophic to waterbodies like the Hackensack River.

The Hackensack, like many urban rivers in the US, was long used as the dumping ground by the industrial sites along its shores. For decades before the advent of environmental laws and regulations these companies went unchecked, dumping barrels of chemical waste into the water creating makeshift landfills. The worst offenses have long since ceased, the companies have closed or moved away, but the River remains impaired by chemicals like mercury and cadmium deep in its sediment. Superfund listing is designed to address the worst hit areas of sediment with a targeted, intense cleanup meant to swiftly remove the contamination with as little harm done to the surrounding water as possible.

The Superfund program exists through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), enacted in 1980. As the title of the Act suggests, it was designed to enable the EPA to respond swiftly to environmental emergencies, compensate injured parties, and assign liability to those responsible. However, the success of the Superfund program hinges on the availability of funds to enable the initiation of costly cleanups and emergency response actions. With a cut as deep as 31%, the EPA could lose an alarming number of employees, many of whom make running the Superfund program possible. Without sufficient funding, the program will falter. At best, only the most severe emergency spills or contamination events will see remediation. Only the worst-case scenarios will be addressed; and sites in desperate or near-desperate need of assistance, like the Hackensack River, will suffer the consequences.

Targeted cleanup of the Hackensack River through a Superfund designation is no longer a given, even after years of campaigning for that result and a year’s worth of water testing that produced alarming results. The listing’s approval is currently pending a thorough review of the EPA’s studies of the Hackensack River by both the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the EPA. Ultimately, the NJDEP must give its approval to the EPA before the River can officially be listed to the NPL. Local municipalities have expressed their support of the listing through official resolutions, sending copies off to the EPA, NJDEP, and the Governor’s office. Hackensack Riverkeeper continues to fight for the listing of the River as well, and will make its voice heard at every opportunity.

We hope to have an update for you soon.