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New Jersey Leads the Nation in Superfund Sites as EPA Funding Cuts and Staff Reductions Threaten Cleanups

Inside Climate News · By Anna Mattson · last updated
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. says the Trump administration has cut regional staffing serving the state by a third, making progress on Superfund cleanups “nearly impossible.”

By Anna Mattson

New Jersey is home to nearly 9 percent of the nation’s Superfund sites—more than any other state. They range from chemical plants with toxic byproducts leached into the soil, to oil-filled lagoons, open fields rife with septic waste and rivers polluted with toxic chemicals. Many have remained contaminated for decades.