EPA Recovers over $5 Million in Sale of Grand Street Mercury Site in Hoboken, New Jersey

By selling the land that the government purchased during its cleanup of the Grand Street Mercury Superfund site in Hoboken, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recovered over $5 million spent in the process. Over $20 million was spent to clean up the site and approximately $7 million was recovered from General Electric and other parties. The sale now brings the total to approximately $12 million of cleanup costs recovered for the site.

“We were able to clean up a dangerously contaminated site and now we are gratified to see it put back to good use,” said Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. “By recovering costs, we can help fund future cleanups"

The United States purchased the property as part of the Grand Street Mercury Superfund site cleanup. Mercury, believed to be associated with prior manufacturing operations, was once prevalent at the site. When the contamination was discovered, EPA worked closely with local health officials to relocate residents living in a renovated former industrial building on the property. In 1997, EPA selected a cleanup plan for the site that included the demolition of the contaminated site buildings and excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil. The cleanup was completed in 2005.