Cleaning the Polluted Hercules Site in Kenvil is of Regional Concern

by Brian T. Lynch, MSW

In my opinion, what happens at the Hercules site in Kenvil should be of keen interest to Mine Hill (and Kenvil) residents.

From an environmental perspective, there are five things every resident of Mine Hill, Kenvil, and point south should know about the former Hercules Powder Company property in Kenvil.

1. After 150 years of manufacturing explosive chemicals, this 1,000 acres of land remains one of the most complex polluted sites in New Jersey.

2. Natural springs at the southern bottom lands of the property vent a copious amount of pure water to form the headwaters of the Black River, which immediately flows into Sunset Lake on the Mine Hill/Roxbury border

3. The Hercules property sits directly over an aquifer from which Mine Hill draws our municipal tap water a few miles downstream. 

4. Evidence has found that site pollution in the soil, groundwater, and sediments has remained confined to the property partly because of the regrowth of vegetation and the lack of human activity on the abandoned property over the past three decades. 

5. Active site remediation since last January requires a major disturbance of the vegetation and soils that have held the contaminants in place for decades. Insufficient information is available to reassure us that every safety precaution is being taken.

This is the Black River very near the spot where it emerges, fully formed, from the former Hercules Powder Company Property in Kenvil, NewJersey.

Map of the lower Hercules Property detailing some chemical findings near the wetlands area known as the Great Spring by early Native Americans. It is the headwaters of the Black River.  

Below are Google satellite images from before decommissioning the plant (Maintaniance Area view), After removal of the buildings and underground pipelines, and today.