Harrison Redevelopment Agency Cancels Meeting Despite EPA Sludge News

The Harrison Redevelopment Agency (HRA) has canceled its meeting set for Monday, September 9, 2024, marking the sixth consecutive meeting cancellation by the Town of Harrison’s Mayor & Council and other town boards. This trend of canceled meetings has heightened concerns about transparency within the town's leadership, particularly as it comes on the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) confirmation of its plans to use the PSE&G property in the Harrison Redevelopment Zone for a toxic sludge plant.

The EPA plans to use the site for at least 10 years to aid in the dredging of the Passaic River. This revelation has triggered outrage, as Harrison residents feel blindsided by the lack of public discourse around the project. Although Mayor James Fife accidentally revealed the then-secret EPA plan two years ago at an HRA Meeting, critics have stated that Fife and Harrison Public Schools Director & Councilman (plus other jobs) James Doran then orchestrated a plan to conceal the project. This alleged cover-up has included defamation of community members who have raised concerns about the sludge plant's environmental and public health impacts.

Cover Up & Lies

Mayor Fife’s administration has faced increasing scrutiny for what many see as a pattern of limiting public knowledge and participation in town governance, a perception reinforced by the repeated cancellations of town meetings. Further details about the town's handling of the EPA project, including the alleged cover-up, can be found in the investigative article titled Concealment, The Truth & Lies About EPA's Toxic Sludge Plant in Harrison NJ.

Over 26 Years Of Harrison Redevelopment At Risk

The Harrison Redevelopment Agency was founded in 1999 after then-Mayor Raymond McDonough and the Town Council declared the southern industrial area in need of redevelopment in 1997. The Redevelopment Plan has been instrumental in the town’s transformation from a contaminated industrial town into a vibrant transit community. The Plan called for Green Space, a Community Center, and traffic control from a drop-off and turn-around zone at the PSE&G property.  It did not call for an EPA Toxic Sludge Plant.  As confirmed by EPA, the PSE&G property i snow completely cleaned up from the toxic soil.  It cost PSE&G a reported $367 million to 400 million dollars to do so. The Harrison Redevelopment Agency has total control over the property as part of its legislative power of eminent domain.

Reprehensible Conduct By Mayor Fife

It is difficult to accept the fact that Mayor James Fife, a long-time Chairman of the HRA, concealed EPA’s plan and Lied about it to the residents and stakeholders and at the recent August 27, 20024 EPA Community meeting stated that he would hear out public concerns but then stated that he was supporting EPA’s plan.  Supporting EPA’s plan to bring Toxic Dioxin-laden sludge onto land in Harrison NJ to what is now a vibrant, transit-oriented residential community is reprehensible given Mayor Fife’s oath of office as Mayor and Chairman of the Harrison Redevelopment Agency.  EPA’s Project Manager Alice Yeh is also violating EPA’s Mission Statement to “protect public health”.  There are alternate sites as mentioned by others at the EPA’s Community Meeting.  Convenience does not trump Public Health. The proposed site for bringing Toxic dioxin-laden sludge onto land is across the street from a residential community.  Air Monitoring is ineffective when you are so close to hundreds of residents in modern luxury apartment buildings.  It will be too late to do anything to protect public health.

The HRA's mission has been to revitalize Harrison's once-contaminated industrial properties, and the agency has overseen numerous projects aimed at turning the town into a vibrant, transit-oriented residential community. However, the recent controversy surrounding the EPA’s toxic sludge plant threatens to undermine years of progress and affect human health.

The next public meeting in Harrison is the Mayor & Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 6:15 p.m. in the Harrison Town Hall. Residents are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussions on the future of the town, especially in light of these pressing issues.

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