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Dissatisfied with the pace of a Superfund site cleanup in Old Bridge, the head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said the EPA was taking over a study of how to remediate a Raritan Bay beach from the company found responsible for its lead contamination.

“At its core, EPA’s Superfund cleanup program is about protecting people’s health,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told a crowd of three dozen reporters, environmental activists, and local, county, state, and federal officials gathered Thursday at the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund Site.

“We must address the elevated levels of lead at this site, specifically,” Regan added. “A legacy of using slag to build walls and jetties is unacceptable. We’re also sensitive to the fact that this important work impacts the availability of a treasured local resource: the beautiful beach behind us.”

Lead has been found to cause learning disabilities and other ailments in children.

In 2009 the EPA found lead levels in three locations along the Raritan Bayfront in Old Bridge and Sayreville to be more than 100 times acceptable levels, a contamination cluster collectively known as the Raritan Bay Slag Site.

Dallas-based NL Industries, which was formerly known as National Lead and operated a now-defunct plant in Perth Amboy, had provided lead slag used as fill in the 1970s for construction of a sea wall immediately north of the Old Bridge beach.

The EPA eventually named NL as the party responsible for lead contamination of the site, and in 2014 the agency ordered the company to clean it up or face hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.

NL, which in the past has denied responsibility for the contamination, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Thursday.

The company filed a lawsuit in 2013 asserting it had merely supplied the slag and did not dump it. Rather, the suit asserted, local, county and state officials were aware of the situation and should be the ones responsible for the cleanup. Officials said Thursday that the case still had not been settled.

EPA officials said Thursday that NL had produced successive cleanup design studies for the Laurence Harbor beach, first in June 2020, and then, following agency comments, in April, which lacked sufficient detail and were otherwise unacceptable.

Rather than prolong the back-and-forth with the company, the agency decided to complete the design study itself. This was after the agency said NL had already been given an extension to produce the study beyond its initial deadline of January 2015.

“It’s more a question of the quality, they submitted the design to us twice, after the first submission, we provided comments, and when we submitted the second submission not all those comments were addressed,” Eric Wilson, deputy director of the EPA’s Region II Superfund program, said after Thursday’s event.

Walter Mugdan, the EPA’s regional administrator for the area that includes New Jersey, said the agency hoped to complete the design study by the end of 2022, though factors including the availability of funds would then determine when the actual cleanup would take place.

He and others said the federal infrastructure bill approved by the Senate and now before the House was likely to contain waterfront cleanup money that could finance the Raritan Bay project and other jobs, before the agency would then seek to recoup the costs from the responsible parties, as proscribed by Superfund guidelines.

Greg Remaud, director of NY/NJ Baykeeper, an environmental group that has followed the Raritan Bay slag project closely but did not take part in Thursday’s event, applauded the EPA’s takeover announcement as “great news,” that would surely expedite completion of the study and, ultimately, the reopening of the beach.

“That doesn’t happen a lot,” Remaud said of the design study’s takeover. “But, frankly, we’re glad it happened, because NL is a recalcitrant party.”

Regan was making his first official visit to New Jersey since being appointed to the country’s top environmental post by President Joe Biden and being sworn-in in March.

The setting was at Old Bridge Waterfront Park, a Middlesex County open space in the township’s Laurence Harbor section, where the discovery of lead had closed the beach 12 years earlier. Shaded by a tree from Thursday’s sweltering sun, Regan stood against the backdrop of an empty beach and a chain link fence that has kept visitors out since 2009.

The agency also found lead on the bayshore about eight blocks west of the beach, around a jetty near Cheesequake Creek in Sayreville, and on the sea wall’s eastern end, at Margaret’s Creek in Old Bridge. The Margaret’s Creek portion was cleaned up in 2018.

The total cost of cleaning up all three portions of the site was estimate at $79 million in 2013, though officials said the final cost is likely to be more than that.

Thursday’s event was hosted by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th District). It included Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry, who thanked Regan for his announcement and told him, “We need your help.”

N.J. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn Latourette was also on hand, and promised state assistance to fund the project if necessary.

The event also included Teresa Szakielo, an Old Bridge resident who chairs the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund Community Advisory Group, who was praised for her diplomatic but determined efforts to see the cleanup through to its conclusion.

“We won’t stop until it’s done,” Szakielo told the crowd. Turning to Regan, she added with a smile, “That’s a promise.”

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OLD BRIDGE, NJ — The Laurence Harbor Fire Department would like to invite everyone to an open house from 1-4 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 8.

The Laurence Harbor Firehouse is located at 20 Laurence Parkway, Laurence Harbor.

The open house is a chance for kids to climb on trucks and try out an actual fire hose, and for all members of the family to learn about fire prevention and safety, particularly cooking safety — the theme this year is Cooking Safety Starts With You! It's also a chance for anyone who is interested in volunteering with Laurence Harbor Fire Department to learn more and get involved and help their community.

LHFD provides free training to volunteers — no prior experience is necessary.

1-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8 20 Laurence Parkway, Laurence Harbor

“Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, according to the National Fire Protection Association. By following safe cooking and kitchen practices every time, our residents can do a lot to protect themselves, each other and their homes,” said Laurence Harbor Fire Chief Brian Stitzel.

Those who attend the open house will learn the steps they can take to prevent cooking fires and stay safe if there is a fire.

And why not train to keep the whole community safe?

“As a Laurence Harbor Fire Company volunteer, you will build life-long friendships while learning skills that allow you to protect your neighbors and their property,” Stitzel said. “No experience is necessary, training is free and you’ll never forget these experiences.”

Fire Department volunteers will be available at the open house to talk about their volunteer experience and answer questions. They will also showcase the techniques and equipment they use to cut open a car and rescue accident victims.

The open house will also offer children and families many opportunities to have fun and learn about the fire department, Stitzel said. Kids can try their hand at using an actual fire hose. Anyone who loves fire trucks and other apparatus (and who doesn’t?) can view LHFD’s fleet and even climb on a vehicles. And the bright pink fire truck from Central New Jersey Pink Heals - a non-profit that supports people who are fighting cancer - will also be on hand.

Laurence Harbor Fire Department will also provide fire safety handouts for both children and adults to take home.

OLD BRIDGE – The township may receive $2.25 million in federal funding for a new community and recreation center along the Laurence Harbor beachfront, which is initially estimated to cost about $5.1 million.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., recently announced that he secured the funding in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development spending bill, which the House is expected to vote on in the coming months.

“This new shared space will help keep our friends and neighbors active and bring the community together,” Pallone said in a news release. “I look forward to seeing this project move through the legislative process.”

The plan includes demolishing the existing building at the site and constructing a two-story 9,000-square-foot facility. The second floor would have a 1,319-square-foot terrace and the ground level would have an outdoor plaza and an amphitheater-like seating area.

"During these difficult economic times it’s important to recognize the need to increase and encourage recreational opportunities for our working families," Mayor Owen Henry said in the release. "We are excited to share the proposed conceptual plans for the Laurence Harbor Community Building. This is the first step towards the revitalization of Old Bridge’s waterfront, which will not only spur economic growth but also create an engaging destination place within the Township. The Township is currently working on designating the Laurence Harbor area as an area in need of redevelopment which will drive reinvestment and redevelopment opportunities.”

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Township Engineer Nicole Shapiro, at a township council meeting in April, said the original building, which was built in the late 1970s and renovated in 2003, is oddly shaped,

"It's almost two octagons put together," she said.

The building is currently being used for summer camp, adult fitness and cooking classes, sports meetings and local civic groups. It is also used as a staging area by emergency personnel when there are events on the waterfront.

EI Associates was awarded the request for proposal to prepare a conceptual design, Shapiro said.

The new facility would include restrooms that can be accessed internally, as well as a men's and a women's restroom that can be accessed from the exterior for beachgoers.

Shapiro said the facility could also be used as a revenue-generating event space, an emergency shelter, as well as a warming or cooling facility.

Shapiro said the township is hoping to construct the facility in 2023.

sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

OLD BRIDGE – Plans to construct a new multipurpose community building along the Laurence Harbor beachfront and clean up an adjacent Superfund site are moving forward.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., joined Mayor Owen Henry, Township Council members and other officials at the site Wednesday to unveil conceptual plans for the new Laurence Harbor Community Building.

Pallone has secured $2.25 million in a federal money to partially pay for the project, which was initially estimated to cost about $5.1 million.

Henry said the project is a "great beginning of even greater things to come" for the neighborhood.

"We need a lot of help in this area, Congressman," Henry said. "You know we have the Superfund site on this waterfront and if you look out this door, we have the greatest view of the city of New York that exists on the Raritan Bay."

But, Henry said, between the people of Old Bridge and that view is a fence that protects the public from the lead contamination in the Superfund site.

"We need to get that cleaned up, and we can't do that ourselves," the mayor said. "That help has to come from the federal government."

The federal government has the means to get that cleaned up and then and only then will the township have a Laurence Harbor that will prosper, Henry said.

Pallone said the community building project "fit perfectly into what we were trying to accomplish and put into the appropriations bill."

Laurence Harbor has its own identity and should have its own community center, Pallone said.

Pallone also gave an update on the cleanup at the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site.

In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to take over the design of plans to clean up the Superfund site on the Old Bridge and Sayreville border.

A portion of the Laurence Harbor beachfront has been closed for years because of lead contamination. The seawall and the jetty were constructed in the 1970s with slag, an industrial byproduct containing lead, manufactured at the Perth Amboy factory of National Lead, now NL Industries.

In 2007, the state Department of Environmental Protect discovered contamination along the seawall and notified the EPA in June 2008. Six years later, the EPA ordered NL Industries to remediate the site, based on the finding that the company had manufactured the slag that was causing the contamination.

The EPA says that completion of the remedial design is anticipated by May, Pallone said.

"And they do plan to actually start the remediation, we hope, this year – sometime by the end of the year," he said.

"I can't guarantee it, but we've been pushing really to get this design done and to actually start the remediation," Pallone said.

Nicole Shapiro, the township's director of community development in charge of the community center project, said the original building, there since the 1970s, has been programmed to its limits.

The building also has been used as a library with the Laurence Harbor library building out of commission, she said.

She said the two-story, 6,000-square-foot building's interior will have an open space design, so the township will be able to take full advantage of the space for programming.

The bottom floor will have bathrooms and a full kitchen. The second floor will have bathrooms, office space and meeting room space. There also will be an outside patio area, she said.

"Right now we're writing a request for proposal for final design," she said. "Within the next month, we will be getting responses on our proposal for final design to bring us to the construction phase, and hopefully this time next year or even in the fall time period, we're hoping to break ground on construction."

During the design phase, public meetings will be held.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

The volunteer fire department deals with a wide variety of calls depending on the season

The Communication Solutions Group, Community Contributor

|Updated Fri, Aug 19, 2022 at 1:25 pm ET

Laurence Harbor, N.J. - While residents of Laurence Harbor and other nearby towns enjoy the community’s beach in the summer months, the fun and excitement of summertime comes with certain risk factors, and therefore a variety of fire and rescue calls for the Laurence Harbor Fire Department.

Members of Laurence Harbor — made up of all volunteers — must be capable of both water rescue missions and fire suppression if and when a call comes in.

“As a department, we face interesting challenges geographically,” Chief Brian Stitzel said. “We’re in close proximity to major cities, popular shore towns and of course our own beach community, so we see a variety of water emergencies.”

Rescue and fire suppression drills are held annually, typically early in the summer. The drills are to help ensure that the department as a whole is prepared for any calls that come in from the shore.

Laurence Harbor members will change into a water suit on the way to the call and are ready to jump onto a rescue boat and dive into the water if necessary. Members need to be capable of running hoses down from the fire engines on land to the docks to put out the boat fire, as well as able to run the fire pump.

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Navigating Rescues by Boat

Besides the water rescue and fire suppression training, some members need to be trained to operate the actual rescue vehicles. Laurence Harbor has two boats – Marine 1, which is a 23-foot center console boat used for water rescue and fire suppression, and Marine 2, a 16-foot AB boat used for water rescue only.

The department as a whole must be fully prepared for calls that come in from the shore, which means that a certain percentage of members need to be qualified and ready for each task.

“It’s a totally different aspect of fire service,” Stitzel said. “There’s various weather factors to worry about.”

The weather — hot, cold, windy — and water conditions such as current and water temperature can all effect navigation during rescues.

Other factors of a rescue or fire suppression are the amount of people who need to be rescued as well as the other boats that may be nearby.

The department recently received a call for a boat taking on water — the boat was having engine difficulties — 10 people were on a boat regulated for no more than five people. The call came in at night, which affected the ability to see while navigating to the boat. Fortunately, with the help of other nearby teams in the surrounding area, everybody was brought to safety and there were no injuries or casualties.

Fighting Forest Fires

Another unique aspect of being a Laurence Harbor firefighter is fighting forest fires. Unlike water rescues, forest fires are most prevalent in the spring and the fall, though Stitzel said this summer has been an exception because of a lack of rain.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service holds a hands-on training course every year for new firefighters that is dedicated to preventing a brush or forest fire from expanding. Firefighters are trained on how to eliminate any potential items that would fuel a fire, such as dead leaves, pine needles, grass clippings or branches. These items are all forest fuels and result in a bigger, stronger fire.

There’s also a course dedicated to providing structural protection to buildings or homes that are in the vicinity of an active wildfire.

Situational Awareness Saves Lives

The general public can help out by always being aware of their surroundings. Stitzel says that those who own boats should have the knowledge and ability to operate their boat, and also pay attention to regulations (such as weight limit or boat capacity).

“Always be aware of your surroundings and be careful. Don’t operate a boat unless you are trained to do so,” said Stitzel.

And when it comes to fireworks, the chief says to leave it to the professionals. There are plenty of great firework displays in the area throughout the summer.

The department received a call on the Fourth of July; sparks from illegal fireworks caught brush behind somebody’s home and caught a large amount of dead leaves that were dumped. Fortunately, no houses caught fire, but it very well could have been worse.

“Dropping grass clippings, leaves and branches in your backyard is stacking additional fuel. If there’s a fire, there is more of a chance that it will get bigger and expand,” Stitzel explained.

A Call for Volunteers

Laurence Harbor Fire Department is seeking motivated individuals to join as volunteer firefighters. Volunteers can expect to participate in training sessions and contribute to administrative duties across the department. Visit www.lhfd1.com- to learn more and complete an inquiry form. “We offer the best training for any emergency, and we look forward to welcoming new volunteers to the department,” Stitzel said.

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