WAYNE- U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) and Mayor Scott Rumana today announced that after twenty two years of federal possession, ownership of the decontaminated Wayne Interim Storage Site (WISS) on Black Oak Ridge Road will be transferred to the Township of Wayne where it will be used as a recreation site.  

"Today I have fulfilled a commitment to the people of Wayne that I made during my earliest days in Congress," stated Pascrell.  "Together with the cooperation of locally elected officials and the federal government we have successfully sliced through the bureaucratic red tape that has held up this announcement for decades.  What was once a public health hazard in Wayne will soon become a beautiful addition to Township's park system."    

"The Thorium problem has been with the Township for a very long time and it's nice to see the cleanup process brought to a positive conclusion with the deeding over of a clean piece of property to The Township," stated Mayor Scott Rumana.  "This land will be a welcome addition to our park's inventory.  I would like to thank Congressman Pascrell for all of his diligent efforts on behalf of the Township, and for making this day a reality."

Since 1997, Pascrell has worked closely with locally elected officials and the federal government to ensure that the site was expeditiously decontaminated to a residential standard, rather than an industrial standard, to ensure that the polluter paid for the cleanup, and to ensure that ownership was transferred to the Township of Wayne.

From 1948-1971 the 6.5 acre site was utilized by W.R. Grace and Company for the processing of rare earth metals.  During Grace's operation, waste materials containing thorium were buried on site and in the surrounding area.

In 1984 the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the Wayne site on the National Priorities List (NPL), a priority list of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States.  The US Department of Energy (DOE) then placed the site in the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).  

The Wayne site was the first U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (FUSRAP) location in the United States to be completely cleaned on schedule.  In addition, approximately $3.2 million in funding the clean-up was paid out by the polluter, W.R. Grace Company.

In 1997, responsibility was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers for further remediation.    

All contaminated material was removed by December 2001, and site wide restoration was completed in June 2002.  A groundwater monitoring program was initiated and is scheduled for completion in June 2006. 

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