An intermittent rain added to the solemnity of the occasion and the history of the soil we were standing on. EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck along with project Manager Farnaz Saghafi, Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik, Congressman Frank Pallone and Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry assembled under a small white tent with mostly media present to announce the completion of a $50 million contaminated soil cleanup. This Superfund site at Imperial Oil in Morganville (Marlboro) was one of the most polluted in all of America. – On arriving, I did mention to several EPA officials that I attended the very first Earth Day on April 22nd 1970. So these events mean something personal. I wasn’t surprised to learn that New Jersey has the most Superfund sites in all of America.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wV_-A8Ue3EU

Industrial operations began in 1912 on this site, so I pointed out to the assembled this is the 100th anniversary. I can only wonder why, in the most densely populated state, they allowed an oil reclamation facility to operate from 1950 to 1969 removing metals and PCBs from waste oil. Another company operated on this site and made arsenic pesticides. The poor soil and underground water; an awful lot of it was excavated and disposed of in the cleanup beginning in 2004.

Superfund was established in 1980 to address the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The program was enacted in the wake of Love Canal and its toxic waste dumps back in the 1970’s. Tara-Jean Vitale and I represented NJ Discover TV. At the conclusion, as dignitaries sought car shelter from a hard rain, Farnaz Saghafi accompanied us on a tour of the grounds; the new top soil brought in, a myriad of varieties of newly planted grasses and trees, a pond fed by a nearby stream, sand pits where the newest residents of the site now live; turtles (not teenage nor mutant as the site is clean and constantly monitored by the EPA), a couple of geese surveying new digs and in the distance just beyond a fence, a new bike path( for humans) just beyond the “No Trespassing” sign. I asked Farnaz about the pond, pretending I was in the desert and it was the only water around. “Could I drink that water now?” “If you like muddy water, you can,” she answered scientifically, with an advanced degree in chemical engineering.

Earlier I asked Mayor Hornik about his recollections of this toxic site. “I was 13 and here with my father who was mayor and this place really scared me.” He smiled broadly and proudly throughout the press conference. When I greeted Congressman Pallone, I reminded him about our past meetings at the environmental Clearwater Festival in Asbury Park the last few summers. Consistency is a desired quality for a Congressman; he is a great supporter of environmental causes. During his comments, he mentioned Superfund losing dollars to the causes of funding jobs for Americans during this recession. Eloquently he said, “Superfund cleanup actually provides a lot of jobs, so it’s a misconception.”

Finally it was announced that the land here is for sale. Part of the sale proceeds goes back to the federal government and Marlboro Township. I stared at the landscape and wondered if I could get a good deal on the property with all I know now.                                        –           Calvin Schwartz  May 2nd 2012