Pallone Expresses Support for Completion of EPA’s Cornell-Dubilier Superfund Cleanup

WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) expressed his support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to complete the remediation of the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund site in South Plainfield, New Jersey. This comes in response to the EPA’s proposed plan to cleanup a nine mile stretch of Bound Brook, which passes next to the former Cornell-Dubilier Electronics facility. Under this proposed plan, the EPA estimates that this fourth and final phase of the cleanup will cost $252 million.

“I am pleased to see that we are moving forward with this important cleanup,” said Congressman Pallone. “The release of this final plan confirms that we are now on the way to a comprehensive cleanup that will remove public health hazards from the area, which is incredibly important for South Plainfield and surrounding communities.”

Congressman Pallone has consistently held that polluters must be held responsible for cleaning up contaminated sites. Last year, he reintroduced the Superfund Polluter Pays Act of 2013, which would replenish the Superfund Trust Fund by reinstituting the taxes oil and gas companies paid between 1980 and 1996. The legislation reinstates through FY 2019 a 9.7 cents a barrel tax on petroleum, a tax on 42 chemicals and a corporate environmental income tax of .12 percent on taxable income in excess of $2 million. This would help ensure that the EPA has sufficient funds available for the costs of investigations and cleanups of these toxic sites.

“The American taxpayer should not be paying for the mistakes of corporate polluters,” Pallone added. “Reinstating the Superfund taxes would ensure that EPA has the funds it needs to properly clean up these toxic sites and protect public health, our communities, and the environment.”

The EPA will hold a public meeting on October 21, 2014 to explain the proposed plan. The meeting will be held at the South Plainfield Senior Center, 90 Maple Avenue, South Plainfield, New Jersey. Public comments on the plan will also be accepted through November 14, 2014. The EPA’s full plan can be found here.