Riverkeeper Vows To Sue If EPA Takes Hackensack River Off Superfund List

SECAUCUS, NJ — Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan vowed he "will sue" the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if they remove the Lower Hackensack River as a Superfund site now that President Donald Trump is in office.

"We're screwed," the always-colorful Sheehan said Tuesday. "When Trump got elected, I stopped expecting anything. My hope is it will remain a Superfund, but if they try to take it off the list, we'll sue."

"It took years to get it on the list and now just because this idiot is in office, I gotta worry about my river even more now? I'll sue the bastard (referring to Trump). Everyone else does."

In November, the EPA held this public meeting at the tech high school by Laurel Hill to announce they were on track to begin clean-up of the Lower Hackensack. In 2022, under President Joe Biden, the Hackensack was designated a Superfund site.

At that November meeting, the EPA said the clean-up will take decades — 20 years, if not longer — and cost hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.

Then President Donald Trump was elected.

Is it reasonable to expect its Superfund status will remain? We asked the EPA that this week.

"EPA has an agreement in place with five companies to investigate a portion of the Lower Hackensack River, including the Marion Reach area," EPA spokesman Elias Rodriguez replied on Feb. 7. "And will continue to oversee the work these companies perform."

He's referring to a previous agreement the EPA reached with five companies that used to operate factories on the river, near Kearny and Jersey City. Those five companies agreed to pay to investigate the area to see if it needs to be cleaned; that investigation alone will cost $30 million.

However, Rodriguez did also mention that Trump removed 82 sites from the Superfund list during his first term in office — by declaring that no further clean-up was required.

"During President Trump’s first term, the Trump EPA cleaned up more toxic sites than its predecessor by fully or partially deleting 82 sites from the Superfund National Priorities List. We remain committed to this in his second term," said Rodriguez.

For decades, Sheehan has been petitioning the federal government to give the Hackensack Superfund status. That status allows the government to direct millions of dollars towards clean-up. Sheehan leads boat tours of the Hackensack from Laurel Hill Park.

When Trump was first elected president, "I know this wasn't going to get completed," he said. "So I told the folks I had been talking to at the EPA to sit tight, and we worked around it. We were able to get a lot of work done on this with the EPA under the radar, so to speak. As soon as we got the opportunity, it was listed as a Superfund."

He added:

"We have a call with the EPA next week. I really don't know what they are going to say," he said. "I don't think they're calling me up to find out how I'm doing."

Stay tuned!

In November: EPA's Clean Up Of Hackensack Will Take Decades, Hundreds Of Millions

Lower Hackensack River Officially Designated A Superfund Site (Sept. 2022)