Trenton receives $200,000 to clean-up metals refinery site

A contaminated site in Trenton is among 179 nationwide to receive Environmental Protection Agency funding to clean up contamination.

A $200,000 grant will be used to get rid of petroleum at the former Federated Metals site at 300 Enterprise Avenue with hopes of turning it into an industrial park.

Diana Rogers leads Trenton’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

She said remediating contaminated properties helps cities offer sites for development.

“When you don’t have a shovel ready site available, it is hard to do development. So opportunities like that come from both and the state level are significant for cities like Trenton to help move out strategic economic development plans forward.”

Acting EPA Regional Administrator Catherine McCabe said ensuring that funding continues to be available to cleanup brownfields sites is a priority.

“If you cannot build on the property now because of the contamination that is there, it stifles economic activity. It also represents a continuing exposure for the residents of a neighborhood whose health could be threatened if the kids play in the area.”

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said about 14,000 contaminated sites in the state need cleanups.

“The good news on the vast majority of those sites we have responsible parties and they’re cleaning them up right now. We have the license site remediation program, in place in the state of New Jersey and the vast majority of those are being cleaned up under state law.”