Congressman Kean visits Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund site in Hunterdon County to address cleanup efforts
MILFORD BOROUGH, NJ (Hunterdon County) – Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) last week visited the Curtis Specialty Paper Superfund site in Milford Borough to address the cleanup efforts.
Prior to walking the site, Congressman Kean hosted a roundtable with EPA, NJDEP, and local elected officials, resulting in a much-needed transparent discussion about the next steps and future goals of the site.
This meeting and visit resulted in Community Advisory Groups (CAG) restarting for the first time in five years this spring.
In attendance was Milford Borough Mayor Henri Schepens, Hunterdon Commissioner Director Jeff Kuhl, Hunterdon Commissioner Zach Rich, Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio and Assemblyman Erik Peterson.
“Getting all levels of government together in one room to discuss the continued remediation of the Curtis Paper Superfund site is paramount to ensuring that this location along the Delaware River is restored fully and safely for the community’s benefit,” Kean said. “This has been an ongoing issue for more than two decades with no end in sight. Our roundtable meeting with the EPA and NJDEP reflects our community’s commitment to responsible cleanup and planning for Milford’s future.”
“This is a new chapter in the cleanup operation of the Curtis Paper Mill,” Schepens said. “I would like to thank Congressman Kean and the Commissioners for prompting this well-attended and well-intentioned meeting. Now that COVID is behind us, we’re looking forward to more face-to-face meetings to find ways to clean up this site.”
“I am grateful for Congressman Kean’s leadership in helping to bring together representatives from the EPA and NJDEP to discuss the long-term cleanup of the former Curtis Paper Mill site in Milford,” Kuhl said. “For nearly five years, there haven’t been any Community Advisory Group meetings, and I’m pleased that as a result of the unified front of Hunterdon County elected officials on the local, county, state, and federal levels, the meetings will be resuming with the goal of developing a long-term remediation plan for this current superfund site.”
“Time is of the essence with this project,” DiMaio said. “The process has gone way too long. Whatever needs to be done to move it forward must be done. The town deserves the opportunity to develop the property into something useful for the community.”
