The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final update to the cleanup plan to address contaminated soil and debris at the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund site in South Plainfield, New Jersey, on Tuesday.

“Today, we are announcing our update to the cleanup plan for the Woodbrook Road Dump site, which confirms our original plan to remove the contaminated soil to an approved off-site disposal facility,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This plan will protect the health and environment of the people and wildlife living near the site, which is now part of the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve.”

The update to the final cleanup plan being announced today documents that the estimated cost of the original cleanup rose from $45.4 million in 2018 to $70 million in 2023 due in part to inflation and increased disposal costs. In addition, EPA updated the cleanup goal to 1.1 parts per million (ppm) for the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in the soil and debris at the site. The cleanup plan update also recognizes that in 2021, New Jersey created the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve which includes the Woodbrook Road Dump site.

EPA’s cleanup plan for the site was originally documented in a 2013 Record of Decision and modified in a 2018 Explanation of Significant Differences.

In 2020, then-Administrator Andrew Wheeler asked EPA Region 2 to review the selected cleanup plan for the site. The results of EPA’s review, carried out in coordination with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed that the 2013 selected cleanup plan remains the best option, but the costs had increased due to inflation and increased disposal costs.

The final cleanup plan includes:

• Removing an estimated 4,000 cubic yards of soil and debris that contains capacitors, capacitor parts and PCB-contaminated soil and debris with PCB concentrations greater than 100 ppm for disposal at an approved off-site disposal facility.
• Removing an estimated 143,000 cubic yards of soil and debris that contains PCBs at concentrations greater than 1.1 ppm for disposal at an approved off-site disposal facility.
• Establishing restrictions to prevent a change in land use, such as residential development. 

For additional background and to see the final Explanation of Significant Differences, as well as EPA’s responses to the public comments that were received on the proposed Explanation of Significant Differences, visit the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund site profile page.