by Emmanuel Young
South Jersey Information Equity Program
In a voice of satisfaction, Mayor Carstarphen announced in his speech at 7th & Chestnut Street on June 18, 2024, that the last illegal dumpsites in Camden had been cleaned up.
“I’m proud to say we made a promise to our Camden residents and cleared this debris, and we kept the promise of remembering two and a half years ago sitting in a community meeting about this monstrous situation,” Mayor Carstarphen said.
In 2021, he pledged his Camden Strong Initiative to clean up the illegal dumpsites within Camden that have accumulated large amounts of trash over the years and demolish unsafe structures to ensure a cleaner and safer community.
In total, the city removed 59,757 tons of soil, 10,080 tons of construction debris, 4,521 tons of solid waste, and 105 tons of tires from the site, which took over a year to accomplish. Dump trucks and workers worked daily to dispose of the non-hazardous material and safely dispose of it.
“This been here our whole lives contaminating our area, and it was an eyesore,” Kevin Jenkins, a resident and owner of KJ Body Fitness. “When it rained, you can smell it, and it was awful…They kept piling it up, and it got worse, and the bigger the pile, the higher the gates got.”
Over $6 million in grants was secured to clean up over 70,000 tons of non-hazardous material and waste on the streets of 7th and Chestnut. These funds came from NJEDA’s Brownfield Impact Fund ($157,142), CRA’s Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund ($164,560), State Hazardous Site Remediation Fund ($54,765.32), City State Transitional Aid ($2,000,000), and City Federal American Recovery Act Money ($up to 3 million).
The administration ended the dumping by taking those responsible to court for their involvement and arranging for services to clean up and properly dispose of the waste with the partnership of the EPA, NJ’s Economic Development Authority, and NJ’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Members of the city and representatives of the EPA and Department of Environmental Protection attended the event to give their expertise on the procedures taken to complete this project and the following plans.
Despite the site being cleared, the city believes more must be done to ensure the safety of the ground beneath the surface. Specialists will inspect and examine the ground in further studies by taking soil samples and other minerals before projects begin to ensure they meet all regulations.
“We removed the surface material; now we need to look underground and make sure there’s no residual contamination, Christopher D. Valligny, LSRP,” Senior Scientist and Montrose Environmental, said.
While there are no immediate plans for what the site will become, some residents and citizens considered a grocery store, a park, a parking lot, and housing.
This story was produced as part of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University’s South Jersey Information Equity Project fellowship and supported with funding from the Independence Public Media Foundation.
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