By EILEEN SULLIVAN
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
City Council wants the state to pay for an independent investigation into contaminated soil dumped in East Camden.
"The dirt finding its way to Camden is unacceptable," Council President Angel Fuentes said at Tuesday's caucus.
Last week, NJ Transit agreed to move huge mounds of contaminated dirt it piled along its light rail line a year ago. Gov. James E. McGreevey sits on the NJ Transit board of directors. The amount to be removed is 124,000 cubic yards - 84,000 of which was brought into the city a year ago.
Substances in the dirt include lead, arsenic, zinc and other heavy metals; polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs; and a variety of volatile organic compounds.
"The dirt is a time bomb," Councilman Ali Sloan El said. "Folks in that area are already contaminated."
NJ Transit, which said the mounds were meant to serve as sound barriers, maintains the dirt poses no threat.
But City Council wants a second opinion.
"This is an issue that will be haunting us if we do not provide clear information," Fuentes said.
Councilman Frank Moran, who represents East Camden, said the dirt removal is estimated to begin in September or October. It is expected to cost $4 million.
Fred Martin, of the city's department of planning, has been charged with investigating the state's reports on the dirt. He said the lead and arsenic levels found in the dirt exceed the residential standard.
"Why was it (dumped) in East Camden?" Sloan El asked. "Why would they dump this poison?"
When Fuentes requested that another firm do an environmental study on the soil, he stressed it would have to be an unbiased firm, and not one with a long history of doing business in the city.
"Remington and Vernick is a friend," Fuentes said when someone suggested asking the Haddonfield engineering firm for the job. "They work for the city, the county and the state. We need an independent."
"And we'll bill (the state) for that," he added.
"It's unacceptable," Fuentes said. "It's always dumped in Camden, and that notion has to stop."
Reach Eileen Sullivan at (856) 486-2665 or esullivan@courierpostonline.com
