Borough Site Chosen for EPA Reuse Award; Ceremony Held Oct. 11
OCTOBER 11, 2023 | This summer the US Environmental Protection Agency announced the 2023 National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award winners, choosing the Middlesex South, New Jersey, site to receive the sixth annual award. The site, also known as the Middlesex Sampling Plant, won the award in the Superfund National Priorities List category.
The award recognizes the accomplishments of federal agencies, states, tribes, local partners, and developers that restore and reuse contaminated land at federal facilities.
Ceremony Held October 11th
The National Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award honoring the Middlesex Sampling Plant was held in the Borough Hall Community Room on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The speech given by Mayor John L. Madden follows:
Good Morning, it is my honor to be here representing Middlesex Borough in accepting the 2023 Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse Award regarding the Middlesex Sampling Plant. I welcome all the Federal and State Agencies present here including Mr. Jeff Bastow of Claremont Development who have supported us in this important partnership.
The Middlesex Sampling Plant, then known as the Middlesex Engineering District, encompassed 9.6 total acres which included a process building and a Marine training center. The plant brought in uranium ore known as pitchblende from Africa. Not only uranium, but the site also received thorium and beryllium ores from the 1940’s until1967.
Thereafter, the site was deemed contaminated, ultimately becoming a Superfund Site and registered on the NPL (National Priorities List) for clean-up and decontamination.
As a Board of Health member back then, I was invited to tour the brick process building probably several years before being torn down. The several rooms I observed had shelves filled with large glass jars of soil samples from other areas and cities as well. Over the years, a great deal of soil and materials were excavated and removed for disposal- 33,000, 35,000, and 45,000 cubic yards in all.
After spending millions of Federal dollars to cleanup up and restore this site to residential standards and at no cost to the Borough, this transfer of the property is a good example of how the Federal Government can effectively work well with local government.
Lastly, it is interesting to reflect upon and look back in history that our small community, Middlesex Borough was selected as one of the dozen sites across the country to participate in the war effort to develop the atomic energy program. Today, this may just be a mere incidental footnote in the annals of our rich legacy.
Thank you all for this wonderful opportunity!
Mayor John L. Madden
Photos from the Ceremony
POSTED: OCTOBER 5, 2023
EPA Award Ceremony: Wednesday, October 11
TIME: 10:30–11:30 am
IN-PERSON: Community Room, 1300 Mountain Ave, Middlesex, NJ
Virtual: MS Teams
Click on the Image to download the ceremony announcement (pdf)
Recent History of the Site, 1943–Present
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress online database.
The Middlesex Sampling Plant was part of the nation’s early atomic energy program, known as the Manhattan Project, in 1943.
Due to contaminated soils discovered later at the plant at 239 Mountain Avenue and the nearby landfill, the Department of Energy began a cleanup in 1981 which continued until 1986.
Then in 1997 the US Army Corps of Engineers continued the soil remediation to an unrestricted-use level.
In 2018, Middlesex Borough began the process to acquire the site to construct our current Department of Public Works (DPW) facility.
The EPA’s Press Release Describes Some History of This Local Site
The Middlesex Sampling Plant in New Jersey is seen from a drone flight in May 2023. | Photo courtesy of the US Department of Energy - Office of Legacy Management.
Superfund National Priorities List Award
LINK TO EPA PRESS RELEASE HERE | Middlesex Sampling Plant, Middlesex, New Jersey (Department of Energy – Office of Legacy Management). The U.S. Department of Energy began remediation at the U.S. government-owned Middlesex Sampling Plant, New Jersey, in 1980, under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program.
Since 1997, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued site cleanup activities under the same remediation program, and surface soils were remediated to an unrestricted-use level.
In 2018, Middlesex Borough, NJ proposed the acquisition of the site for use as a Department of Public Works/Office of Emergency Management facility and a public road. The public road in turn supports a $40 million Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-designed adjacent warehouse development and a larger community redevelopment zone.
Both the DPW and warehouse projects will aid the growth plan for the borough and are consistent with the borough’s Lincoln Boulevard Redevelopment Plan. The warehouse development alone would provide increased tax revenue and more than 150 jobs to the community.
A Team Effort Across Many Decades
“We are honored to be recognized by EPA with this esteemed award. The remediation efforts were a catalyst, but it also took vision and commitment from the community to turn this property into a valuable resource,” said Carmelo Melendez, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management director. “This site demonstrates the importance of the work addressing the nation’s nuclear weapons legacy and how cooperation with state, local, and federal partners can generate opportunities for smart reuse.”
“This has truly been a team effort on many levels,” Castillo said. “LM’s FUSRAP and Asset Management teams spent significant time and effort developing creative solutions to the twists and turns over four years to support a beneficial reuse request from the local municipality.”
You can read more about the Reuse Award and the Middlesex Borough facility on the Department of Energy’s website here, “LM Site in New Jersey Chosen for EPA Reuse Award.”