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Environmental justice advisory council urges task force to address contaminated runoff in combined‑sewer communities
Summary
Andy Kricken of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Advisory Council urged DEP to convene Brownfields staff, the combined‑sewer division and EJAC to prioritize containment of contaminated stormwater runoff from vacant or orphaned brownfields in combined‑sewer cities where overflows and basement backups occur.
Andy Kricken, a member of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Advisory Council, told the roundtable that contaminated runoff from brownfields poses acute public‑health risks in combined‑sewer communities such as Newark, Camden, Trenton, Perth Amboy and Paterson. He said sewage backups into basements occur several times per year in some towns and with brownfields runoff there is a risk that carcinogens or other contaminants could enter homes. "The concern is is that contaminated runoff ... could could be in the storm in the contaminated runoff, in the stormwater, in the combined sewer system," Kricken said, urging DEP to form a task force with the combined‑sewer group and EJAC.
DEP staff acknowledged the concern and said stormwater can be controlled only while active remediation is underway; for dormant or vacant sites the department said it would reach out to the municipal stormwater lead (named contact) and explore a brainstorming session with EJAC and the Office of Environmental Justice. Kricken and other participants urged consideration of short‑term control measures while long‑term CSO plans remain decades from completion.
