DESCRIPTION: The Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML) is a 37-acre site located approximately 16 miles southwest of Newark and consists of parcels belonging to the Borough of Middlesex and the Middlesex Presbyterian Church. MML was closed to disposal activities in 1974 and has been covered with varying depths of cover material. In 1984 and 1986, Bechtel National Inc. conducted characterization, remedial action (RA), and a final survey for a five-acre portion of MML at the north end of MML. Between 2001 and 2003 additional investigations identified elevated radiation levels along the southern boundary of the landfill as well as metals, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in soil exceeding the NJDEP direct contact soil screening levels. A 2008 radiological survey of MML, conducted by Department of Energy (DOE), identified small areas of low-level surface radiation leading it to be declared eligible for the Formerly Used Site Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in March 2009.
AUTHORIZATION/PROJECT DESCRIPTION: MML is being addressed under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Energy and Water Appropriations Bill transferred management of the FUSRAP to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), when it was signed into law on October 13, 1997. FUSRAP was created in 1974 to clean up sites where work was performed during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s as part of the nation's early atomic energy program. Most of those contaminated sites were cleaned up under the guidelines in effect at the time, which were not as strict as today’s standards in most cases.
STATUS: The Remedial Investigation, Feasibility Study, and Proposed Plan have been completed for this project. The USACE issued a Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2022 detailing the selected remedial option of removing contaminated soils to unrestricted release cleanup standards. The remedial design (RD) for soil remediation is scheduled to be complete FY25.
PROJECT DOCUMENTS
MML FUSRAP Final Record of Decision
Final Preliminary Assessment, Middlesex Municipal Landfill FUSRAP Site
Site Inspection Report, Middlesex Municipal Landfill, Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program
Middlesex Municipal Landfill FUSRAP Site, Final Feasibility Study Report
Risk Assessment (vol 2 of 2) Middlesex Municipal Landfill FUSRAP Site
Remedial Investigation ( vol 1 part 1) Middelsex Municipal Landfill FUSRAP Site
Remedial Investigation Appendices (vol 1 part 2), Middlesex Municipal Landfill FUSRAP Site
Middlesex Municipal Landfill FUSRAP Site Final Proposed Plan CONTACT:
Kathleen Cuzzolino, Project Manager Phone: (917) 790-8330
Email: Kathleen.Cuzzolino@usace.army .mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District Programs and Project Management Division
26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 10278