Volume 149, No. 2 covering the 1st Session of the 108th Congress (2003 - 2004) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“DO NOT TRANSPORT GEMS LANDFILL POLLUTANTS TO CCMUA” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E49 on Jan. 8, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DO NOT TRANSPORT GEMS LANDFILL POLLUTANTS TO CCMUA
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HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to comment on the legislative intent of the Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and specifically on the cleanup of a Superfund site in my district, the Gloucester Environmental Management Services
(GEMS) landfill (EPA Facility ID NJD980529192).
I strongly oppose the transport of pollutants from the GEMS landfill through sewer lines to the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
(CCMUA). I continue to believe that the only responsible option is for the GEMS Trust to build an on-site treatment facility that can treat the contaminated water to the highest standards possible. Further, I call on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and CCMUA to step up and protect the public interest by insisting on on-site treatment, and only on-site treatment of the contaminants in the landfill. According to a letter from EPA Region 2 Administrator Jane Kenney dated November 25, 2002, the CCMUA is under no legal obligation to accept contaminants from GEMS. As such, I continue to urge the CCMUA heed the call of the local community and reject any discharge from GEMS.
The intent of Superfund is to hold polluters responsible for cleaning up the damage they have caused to a community. There is no plausible reason that a publicly financed municipal utility authority should be involved in the remediation process. Furthermore, committing the CCMUA to the long term burden of processing unpredictable wastewater is inconsistent with New Jersey's efforts to meet federal Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) initiatives as prescribed in the Clean Water Act.
Proponents of the CCMUA treatment option cite water quality tests that satisfy permit requirements for discharge to the CCMUA. I believe that this testing is inadequate evidence to send the GEMS pollutants off-site. It is likely that the customary ``grab samples'' will miss radioactive ``spikes'' and that the heavier radio isotopes will flocculate in the sludge, which is destined to be sent back into a community as part of the state's controversial ``beneficial use'' land application sludge policy. It is also predictable that under current testing and notification procedures, there will be a significant lapse of time from when a problem is detected, its source is determined, the flow to the sewer plant halted, and byproduct recipients are notified. I am convinced that this testing and monitoring regime will not fully protect the community.
Insufficient review has been given to the synergistic and cumulative effects of discharges to CCMUA. Needless to say, any costs related to the disruption of the CCMUA system, environmental impairment and legal defenses, will immediately be a pass through cost to the CCMUA rate payers and ultimately, to New Jersey taxpayers in general. This is a risk that I am not will to pass on to my constituents.
The GEMS Landfill has exposed our community to hazardous material for almost 50 years. Today, approximately 38,000 of my constituents live within a three mile radius of the GEMS Landfill, some as close as 300 feet. Unfortunately the community has not been adequately involved in the decision making process. Many of my constituents have contacted me with their concerns about GEMS and to outline their difficulty in obtaining information about the remediation.
Although the landfill has been closed for 22 years, amazingly we are still grappling with how to cleanup the site. The GEMS Trust should not get away with a band aid solution to a major environmental hazard. My constituents have suffered long enough. I sincerely hope that the EPA, NJDEP and constituents meet the responsibility they have to the public and to public health by supporting the construction of a treatment facility that will contain the pollution and treat it on-site rather than spread it around the community by sending it to the constituents. If, however, they do not do so, I am prepared to pursue any avenue necessary--including legislation or litigation or both--to block this unwelcome and risky plan.
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