CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Camden is receiving $2.5 million in federal funding to remediate soil where a four-story contaminated dirt pile used to stand.
The giant dirt pile that once stood at 6th and Chestnut Streets is gone, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing the funding to remove more than 11,000 tons of contaminated soil and back fill so the 1.6 acre property can be redeveloped.
In a press conference at the site Thursday, Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen called the process of clearing and now remediating the property “a journey.”
“We can safely say that we have reclaimed this site and we made a wrong right,” he said.
Regional EPA Administrator Mike Martucci said the federal Brownfields Program was created for places like the lot in Camden, to cure wounds from industrial use in the past.
“While these communities once benefited from all that industrial activity, today they’ve been left with scars,” he said.
Money will also go towards community engagement on the future use of the site once it’s ready for building. Carstarphen said a mix of residential and retail use is currently being discussed.
