Harrison Avenue Landfill
Camden City, Camden County
PI# G000004459
December 2007 Fact Sheet
Background
The Camden chapter of the Salvation Army has received a $54 million
grant from the Ray and Joan Kroc Foundation to build and operate a state-of-the-art
132,000 square feet community center in the Cramer Hill neighborhood of
Camden City. The construction of the Salvation Army Center will begin
in 2008 and will feature an atrium-style town plaza, a family service
center, indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, an aquatic center,
a child care center, and community enrichment, job-training and anti-poverty
programs.
Camden officials and Salvation Army representatives chose to locate
the community center on the former Harrison Avenue Landfill because the
site is large enough to accommodate the project, is owned by the City
Redevelopment Agency, and is located along bus routes and a proposed rail
station allowing for easy access. The location is also in close proximity
to the 12,000 children who reside in Cramer Hill and North Camden.
The Harrison Avenue Landfill is part of the Cramer Hill Brownfield Development
Area (BDA) consisting of eight abandoned brownfield sites covering over
200 acres and extending over two miles of shoreline along the Delaware
River. The city of Camden and the Camden Redevelopment Agency have been
working closely with NJDEP’s Office of Brownfields Reuse to investigate
and reuse these properties.
Harrison Avenue Landfill Investigation
The 85-acre Harrison Avenue Landfill sits at the confluence of the Delaware
and Cooper rivers in the Cramer Hill section of the city. The property
is bound by East State Street to the southwest and Harrison Avenue to
the southeast. The landfill operated from 1952 until 1971 and was never
formally closed following state requirements due to the budget deficits
in Camden.
Camden City and the Salvation Army have requested financial and technical
assistance from the NJDEP to address the contamination issues associated
with the landfill. In 2006, the NJDEP and the state Economic Development
Authority (NJEDA) awarded a $2.1 million grant from the Hazardous Discharge
Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) to the Camden Redevelopment Agency to perform
remedial investigation activities. An additional $2.9 million of HDSRF
funding was allocated in 2006 to fund future remedial actions.
The remedial investigation findings for the work completed in mid-2006
found the landfill contained mainly municipal solid waste. Test results
from surface soils, soil gas groundwater and leachate are typical of conditions
found at municipal solid waste landfills. Sediment and surface water impacts
were minimal except for the presence of solid waste found in the Delaware
River tidal flats. However, an area of industrial chemical waste material
saturated with chlorobenzene and dichlorobenzenes was found in the southeast
portion of the landfill. This material is approximately 20 to 30 feet
below the municipal solid waste grade and is a source of ground water
contamination that is migrating to the east of the site.
Current Status
To clear the way for the construction and operation of the new Salvation
Army Camden Community Center, the NJDEP is initiating a $4 million cleanup
project to remove the buried industrial chemical waste discovered during
the remedial investigation in the southeast portion of the landfill. The
interim remedial measure will consist of excavation and off-site disposal
of an estimated 14,000 cubic yards of material contaminated with chlorobenzene
and dichlorobenzenes that resulted from disposal of industrial chemical
waste in a localized area in the interior of the landfill. The material
is acting as a continued source of ground water contamination and localized
soil vapor contamination.
The NJDEP will implement continuous dust and odor suppression measures
during construction activities. Air-monitoring stations will be established
to measure dust particulates and continuous air monitoring will be performed
for vapors to ensure these measures are effective. The hours of operation
will be 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
In November 2007, the NJDEP approved a Remedial Action Workplan for
the 23-acre Salvation Army Camden portion of the landfill. The Remedial
Action Workplan specifies that the entire site will be covered with an
at least two-foot thick engineered cap, removal of all municipal solid
waste from the Kroc Center building footprint, a landfill gas mitigation
system for the building and outdoor areas, and control of leachate and
groundwater associated with the municipal solid waste.
Future Actions
In December 2007, the NJDEP and the NJEDA anticipate that an additional
$225,000 HDSRF grant will be awarded to the Camden Redevelopment Agency
for further investigations to finalize the design of the remedial actions
and facility layout. Additionally, in December 2007, the NJDEP and NJEDA
expect to award the Camden Redevelopment Agency an additional $4.5M in
remedial action grant monies from HDSRF to provide a total of nearly $7.5M
necessary to remediate the landfill and build the Kroc Community Center.
These grants bring the state’s commitment for investigation and
cleanup funding to nearly $14M since 2006. Remediation activities are
anticipated to begin in summer 2008.
The Salvation Army Camden Construction activities are expected to quickly
follow the remediation activities beginning as early as November 2008.
With continued cooperative work between the City, Camden Redevelopment
Agency, the Salvation Army Camden and NJDEP, the Kroc Center could open
in spring 2010 to serve the needs of Camden area residents.
For more information about the NJDEP publicly funded removal
action, please contact:
NJDEP, Office of Community Relations
(609) 984-3081 | (800) 253-5647
For more information about the remedial activities associated
with the Salvation Army Community Center Project, please contact:
Frank McLaughlin, Brownfield Project Manager
NJDEP, Office of Brownfields Reuse
(609) 633-8227 |
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Update
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) will be resuming on-site
remediation activities at the Harrison Avenue Landfill.
Related Information
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