\ Brownfields 2011 Assessment and Cleanup
Grant Fact Sheet
Newark, NJ
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants
through four competitive grant programs: assessment
grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and
job training grants. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of Newark was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants and three brownfields
cleanup grants. Located in northern New Jersey on the
Passaic River, Newark (population 264,128) was the
most important industrial city in the state through most
of the 19th century. By the eve of the Civil War, the city
had a larger percentage of its population engaged in
manufacturing than any other city in the country. As
manufacturing declined, the city's industrial legacy left
an estimated 700 acres of brownfields. Groundwater in
Newark is contaminated from numerous sites
throughout the city. Almost 24 percent of residents live
below the poverty level, and the unemployment rate is
15.8 percent. Approximately 68.8 percent of residents
are minorities. Brownfield assessments are expected to
clarify environmental concerns for potential
redevelopers, catalyze redevelopment, and enable the
city to focus on job creation. When the Central Steel
Drum site is cleaned up, the city plans to combine the
site with an adjacent property and redevelop it as a
large distribution center. When the Scientific Chemical
Processing site is cleaned up, the city plans to redevelop
it with a warehouse or port-related facility. When the
Northern New Jersey Oil site is cleaned up, the city
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Newark for two
brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
perform six Phase I and two Phase II environmental
site assessments. Petroleum grant funds will be used
to perform 10 Phase I and two Phase II
environmental site assessments. Grant funds also
will be used to conduct community outreach
activities. Assessments will focus on former gas
stations and sites along the Passaic River and in the
Port Area.
Cleanup Grants
$400,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Newark for three
brownfields cleanup grants. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up the 8.5-acre
Central Steel Drum site at 704-738 Doremus
Avenue, which is contaminated with volatile and
semi-volatile organic compounds, metals, and PCBs.
The site was formerly used for manufacturing
printing ink and recycling chemical drums.
Hazardous substances grant funds also will be used
to clean up the four-acre Scientific Chemical
Processing site at 411-443 Wilson Avenue. The site
was used from the early 19th century until 1975 to
manufacture leather, rubber products, and industrial
chemicals. It is contaminated with pesticides, PCBs,
and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds.
Petroleum grant funds will be used to clean up the
1.2-acre former Northern New Jersey Oil, Lot 11 site
at 2078 and 2090 McCarter Highway. The site was
used from 1931 to 1992 for oil storage and
distribution, and auto repair.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
E PA 560-F-128-022
May 11
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plans to redevelop it with a light manufacturing facility.
The cleanups are expected to create more than 50 jobs
and generate additional tax revenues for the city.
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 2 Brownfields Team
(212) 637-3260
EPA Region 2 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region2/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Newark, New Jersey
973-733-6575
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
E PA 560-F-128-022
May 11
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