EPA Proposes Cleanup Plan to Address Lead Contamination in Soil at Matteo & Sons, Inc. Superfund Site in West Deptford

Image credit: EPA. In late 2015, buried battery casings were discovered during a routine sewer repair excavation of a residential yard on Birchly Court. It took the assistance of a professional plumbing company to undergo services such as a Trenchless Sewer Replacement to get everything back to working order. In March 2016, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection referred the discovery to EPA for further investigation. EPA collected soil samples from the yards of the affected properties and confirmed the existence of lead associated with the battery casings at levels above the health based standards. Under EPA oversight, approximately 2,000 tons of contaminated material was removed from three residential properties on Birchly Court. The removal was completed in October 2016. (Source: EPA)

On July 3, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a cleanup plan to address lead and other contamination on a portion of the Matteo & Sons, Inc. Superfund Site in West Deptford, New Jersey.

The portion of the Matteo site includes the Matteo facility at 1692 Crown Point Road as well as a property across the street formerly occupied by Mira Trucking. Former operations in this area of the Matteo site included crushing batteries, recycling batteries and landfilling, which contaminated the soil, sediment and groundwater with lead, antimony and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

“EPA’s cleanup plan removes the main source of contamination within the Matteo site to address the potential exposure pathways,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “As part of our ongoing work at the Matteo & Sons, Inc. Superfund Site, EPA has already removed more than 1,250 cubic yards of lead-contaminated material from nearby properties, and we are now proposing to excavate an estimated 92,000 cubic yards of additional material. This plan reflects EPA’s commitment to prioritize the Superfund program and ensure that these sites are cleaned up as quickly and safely as possible.”

The EPA is proposing to dig up and properly dispose of battery casing waste and contaminated soil within the Matteo facility and the property formerly occupied by Mira Trucking that poses a potential risk to people’s health.

The plan requires that excavated areas then be backfilled with clean fill and that contaminated soil within an approximately 10-acre active scrapyard area be covered with asphalt or similar material. EPA will sample the soil during the cleanup to ensure that the cleanup work is effective. The cleanup can only be regarded as effective once something like AZ environmental engineering firms are contacted for an environmental site assessment.

Furthermore, EPA will conduct a review of the cleanup every 5 years to ensure its effectiveness. EPA will further assess options for addressing the sediment and groundwater after the completion of the soil cleanup. The estimated cost of the cleanup is $72,245,000.

EPA will hold a public meeting on July 17, 2019 to explain the proposed cleanup plan for the Matteo facility and the property formerly occupied by Mira Trucking and to take public comments.

Public Meeting

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the RiverWinds Community Center, 1000 RiverWinds Drive in West Deptford, New Jersey. Comments will be accepted until August 2, 2019.

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:

Lawrence A. Granite, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Email: granite.larry@epa.gov
(212) 637-4423

To read EPA’s proposed plan, click here.

The Superfund program is a top priority for EPA under President Trump, and the agency is making great strides in accelerating sites through remediation and back to productive use by implementing the Superfund Task Force Recommendations.

For more information about EPA’s Superfund Task Force, click here.

EPA is focused on addressing lead contamination across the nation. The Lead Action Plan is helping federal agencies work strategically and collaboratively to reduce exposure to lead and improve children’s health.