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Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Hyatt Clark Industries in Clark, New Jersey

On this page:

  • Cleanup Status
  • Site Description
  • Contaminants at this Facility
  • Site Responsibility

Cleanup Status

General Motors is cleaning up the site under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Property Transfer Program, pursuant to an Administrative Consent Order entered into in 1989 by GM with the NJDEP.  All former manufacturing areas have been removed.  NJDEP approved a plan to clean up the soil. Contaminated soil has been capped.  Off-site soil contamination was removed. A system to remove pure chemicals (those that are not dissolved in groundwater) from a network of wells is underway in the central portion of the site. The site was redeveloped as a golf course in 2002.

An investigation of groundwater both on and off the site is ongoing to determine how far the contaminated groundwater has migrated. Once the investigation is completed, a plan will be developed to control and clean up the groundwater. Additional soil, groundwater and indoor air sampling is planned. The future use of the property is restricted to a golf course, clubhouse, driving range, and putting green. A deed notice was filed for the property for hazardous constituents remaining at the site above standards for residential use.


Site Description

The Former Hyatt Clark site was located at 3100 Raritan Road in Clark, New Jersey. The site was comprised of 32 acres of manufacturing areas, 32 acres of parking lots, and 23 acres of woodland. The plant originally manufactured hard-rubber products, such as automobile steering wheels and door handles. For most of the plant's history, anti-friction roller bearings were also produced for the automotive and railroad industries. 

The facility had Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permitted tank and container storage units that have been closed. General Motors (GM) constructed the plant in 1938. In 1981, ownership passed from GM to Hyatt Clark Industries. All plant operations ceased in 1987. In 1989, ownership of the plant reverted to GM.


Contaminants at this Facility

The soils and groundwater at the site are contaminated with volatile organic compounds (including tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, 1,1-dichloroethene), semi-volatile compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and metals. Groundwater contamination extends into bedrock. Contamination resulted from past manufacturing operations, including leaks from above ground and underground chemical storage tanks, and the off-loading of chemicals.


Site Responsibility at this Facility

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 2.