Hydraulic dredging of the 36-acre portion of the Pompton Lake, known as the Acid Brook Delta (ABD), has been completed, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).
The work was performed by the Chemours Company FC, LLC., through its contractor, Sevenson Environmental Services with EPA/NJDEP oversight.
The first phase of this cleanup work started back in 2016 and included removal, processing and off-site disposal of 28,810 cubic yards of soil and sediment.
During the 2017 season, the EPA oversaw dredging and removal of an approximate 128,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with mercury and lead from the 36-acre area where the Acid Brook flows into Pompton Lake, called the Acid Brook Delta.
According to Sevenson, the second phase of dredging works involved far more equipment. “ It took several months just to assemble the equipment on the staging area along the shore, with some of the machinery used to process the sediment being several stories tall. ”
“ The scope of work in 2018 involves placement of the eco-layer in the Island Area and the ABD as well as site restoration ,” reported the EPA.
Over the next couple of weeks, workers will be placing a six-inch layer of clean fill over dredged areas within the Acid Brook Delta. The sand will serve as a new habitat for aquatic life, and will restore vegetation to the lake shoreline.
The EPA also added that during the April, the contractor will continue complete demobilization/disassembly of dredging equipment.
Pompton Lake bottom sediment was contaminated with mercury and lead from the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company’s (now Chemours) factory that manufactured explosives on the north end of Pompton Lake, New Jersey from 1902-1994.