Carteret, NJ – Mayor Dan Reiman announced a settlement this week that resolves the Borough’s environmental claims against E.I du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), and clears the way for revitalization of Carteret’s Arthur Kill waterfront.
Under the settlement, DuPont has agreed to a schedule for cleanup of its long-contaminated waterfront properties, to donate more than five acres of its land to the Borough for use as a parking lot for the Borough’s ferry terminal and public marina, and to remove a 400,000 ton debris pile left by the now defunct JNC Materials, LLC, which had operated on the site adjacent to DuPont.
“This is a win for Cartertet’s taxpayers and for the Arthur Kill environment,” said Mayor Reiman. “DuPont not only has committed to faster cleanup of its own contamination, it is also cleaning up the massive waste pile created on DuPont’s property by JNC’s illegal dumping along Roosevelt Avenue.”
Under the settlement, DuPont must submit a new cleanup plan to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that includes cleanup of the JNC waste on its property. DuPont also will donate the acreage the Borough needs for its planned ferry terminal, while retaining responsibility for any cleanup on the donated parcel. DuPont also agreed to pay the Borough’s litigation costs. Under the settlement, the Borough will continue to press claims against JNC, KBI, and landowner basin Holdings Realty Co. in court.
The settlement results from a lawsuit under New Jersey’s Environmental Rights Act that Mayor Reiman initiated in 2009. Former NJDEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell represented the Borough in court as its special counsel.
“For years, JNC had thumbed its nose at NJDEP, while DuPont’s cleanup had ground to a halt,” said Mayor Reiman. “Our lawsuit made clear that Carteret will hold polluters accountable for sites that blight our community and erode our tax base.”
The ferry terminal, which will lie to the north of the borough’s Waterfront Park along the Arthur Kill, is expected redefine the Borough’s commuter value by providing inter-modal transportation to Manhattan via a 25 minute water route. The DuPont parcel and waterway will allow for marine facilities for docking and loading, a 350 car parking lot and drop off area, and a terminal building for ticket purchases.
“The Borough Council and I have committed ourselves to the cleanup and re-use of abandoned industrial sites in Carteret,” Mayor Reiman added. “This effort has created new parks and residences while attracting new businesses to the tax rolls. With this settlement, removed a massive roadblock to our success.”
