EPA Kearny Meeting Tues. July 8, 2025 —Speak Up Before Sludge Moves In

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a community meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 2025, to discuss ongoing and future activities for the Lower 8 Miles of the Passaic River and the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site. The meeting will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kearny Town Hall located at 402 Kearny Avenue, Kearny, NJ.

EPA is holding its meeting in Kearny because it will be utilizing property along the Passaic River in Kearny for what it calls Staging, but really means the storage of construction equipment and vehicles and construction fill materials.  It will also be using a portion of the waterfront to launch boats and do water testing. In addition, the dredging of the toxic sludge at the bottom of the Passaic River will expose the public to dioxin, which is cancer-causing.  EPA at prior meetings was not aware of the use by Rowing Teams of the Passaic River.  Several local Rowing Teams use the waters that will be disturbed by the dredging of the Passaic River.

This upcoming EPA meeting follows a highly attended meeting in Harrison, NJ, almost a year ago on August 27, 2024, which saw significant public engagement and concern over the EPA’s plans to establish a toxic sludge plant and a river debris collection point on the PSE&G property adjacent to the Harrison PATH station. Residents from nearby luxury apartment buildings like Steelworks, The Vermella, Cobalt Lofts, and The Wyldes voiced thoughtful questions and concerns. The rapid development of additional modern apartment buildings in the area has heightened community interest and scrutiny regarding public health in light of the EPA’s plan to put a Toxic Sludge Plant in a residential community.

The Observer newspaper, which videotaped the previous meeting, has made the recording available for public viewing through YouTube, providing residents who could not attend a chance to catch up on the detailed discussions that took place.

Drew Curtis, EPA’s Community Engagement Coordinator, is the point of contact for those seeking more information about the upcoming Kearny meeting. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 637-3726.

Mayor Fife & Councilman Doran Support Toxic Sludge Plant

Harrison Mayor James Fife, who is supporting EPA’s plan to bring toxic sludge on land in Harrison, has faced criticism for lying to residents that EPA wasn’t coming to Harrison despite his prior statement to the contrary at a Harrison Redevelopment Agency meeting. Mayor Fife’s lying and defaming others in the process have sparked a broader discussion about his administration’s transparency and accountability in local governance. Why would a sitting Mayor who is also the Chairman of the Harrison Redevelopment Agency support bringing toxic sludge on land in a residential community across the street from modern apartment buildings generating over 16 million dollars per year and growing, which matches the property tax paid by property owners in the rest of the town?

Mayor Fife is not alone in his support of the EPA’s plan to bring toxic sludge on land in Harrison.  Councilman and Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioner James Doran is also in support.  In 2022 during a Mayoral election, Doran and Fife lied to the residents of Harrison about EPA’s plan and wrote to residents stating that then Councilman & Mayoral Candidate Anselmo Millan and local attorney John M. Pinho were lying about EPA’s planned Sludge Plant eventhough both knew that they were the ones lying to the public.  At the Harrison EPA Meeting, Mayor Fife, despite resident opposition to the EPA’s Sludge Plant, stated that he was supporting the EPA. Yes, we knew that already.  It is clear from prior statements, denied by Fife as part of his cover-up of the truth, that Mayor Fife lied to the public and defamed others who were speaking the truth. James Doran, in one of his other jobs as Commissioner of the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, voted YES to a 4th Gas Plant in the  Ironbound Section of Newark NJ.

What To Expect at the EPA Meeting

The July 8th meeting is expected to include a presentation by the EPA, followed by a question-and-answer period where the public will have the opportunity to obtain detailed responses directly from the EPA officials in attendance. Currently, the toxic sludge is at the bottom of the Passaic River, but once disturbed, it will be in the water and affect water-based uses of the Passaic River, including Kearny High School rowing activities.  Rowing may need to be halted indefinitely because of the EPA Contractor's sludge removal activities.

This event is part of the EPA's ongoing effort to maintain open lines of communication with communities affected by the Superfund sites, ensuring that public health and environmental safety remain priorities in the cleanup processes. If you have attended any of the meetings, you will know that EPA staff do not provide definitive answers to some questions, and there are inconsistencies in the answers.  For example, the EPA first stated that the project would take 10 years.  Later, the period was 10 to 15 years, and one EPA project manager said it would be up to 20 years. It is recommended that you watch (or listen in the background) the video of EPA’s Harrison, NJ, August 2024 meeting to judge for yourself whether EPA’s plan to bring toxic dioxin laden sludge into a residential community in Harrison NJ makes any sense and complies with its mission statement to protect public health.   

Related Articles:

EPA Violating Its Mission Statement To Protect Public Health

Concealment, The Truth & Lies About EPA's Toxic Sludge Plant in Harrison NJ

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