Cleaning Passaic River may cost $2.3B

Removing the toxic chemicals that foul the lower Passaic River could cost up to $2.3 billion, the federal government said Thursday, as it outlined what could become one of the costliest pollution cleanups in U.S. history.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it is considering seven options for restoring the heavily contaminated river, where dioxin, pesticides, heavy metals and other chemicals have spread as far north as Garfield and the city of Passaic.

The cheapest option -- entombing the contaminated riverbed under a dirt cap -- could cost at least $900 million. Completely removing 11 million cubic yards of toxic sediment could run more than twice that, the agency estimated.

"This is going to be one of the most significant river restorations in the history of the United States," said Alan Steinberg, the EPA's regional administrator. "You're talking about a river that runs through one of the most populated areas of the state and a river that was subject to a terrible environmental destruction."

Steinberg said the companies responsible for polluting the river would foot the bill -- a vow that could set up a long fight among the industries that have set up shop along the Passaic over the years.
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