Plans have been finalized to clean up a toxic waste site on Raritan Bay.
New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone made the announcement Friday at the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site in Old Bridge with representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA says it will cost about $79 million to remove contaminated material from the site.
Elevated levels of lead, arsenic and copper were found at the site where blast furnaces operated in the 1960s and 70s.
The Laurence Harbor seawall makes up part of the site. About 2,500 feet of the seawall is contaminated, according to the EPA. Metal slag from the blast furnaces were deposited along the beachfront.
In 2007, high levels of lead were also found along the southern shoreline of the Raritan Bay. That's next to the Old Bridge Waterfront Park. The EPA notified the public about health concerns related to the lead waste and put up security fencing to keep people out of the area.
The site was put on the EPA's Superfund priorities list in 2009. As investigators continued testing, they found elevated levels of lead in the slag, soil, sediment and surface water.
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Pallone also announced Friday he has reintroduced a bill to restore a tax on oil and gas companies that would replenish a fund used to clean up toxic waste sites.
