1.0 Site Background

1.0 Site Background: Roebling Steel Mill Superfund Site

The Roebling Steel Superfund Site is comprised of 200-acres of land in the Roebling Section of Florence Township, New Jersey, at Second Street and Hornberger Avenue  The Site is bordered to the west and southwest by the residential Village of Roebling, the Delaware River to the north, Crafts Creek to the east, and residential/commercial properties to the south.  U.S. Route 130 is approximately a half mile south of the Site.  The Site is located on the south bank of the Delaware River with Crafts Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River, on the eastern boundary of the Site, and forms a 40-acre pond immediately south.  Surface runoff from the Site is collected at various storm-water collection systems and is then discharged into the Delaware River and Crafts Creek through six outfalls. 

John A. Roebling’s Sons Company in Trenton, New Jersey, selected Kinkora, later known as Roebling, for the site of its expanding operations.  The land was purchased, and riparian rights were obtained in order to fill in the river for property expansion in 1904.  The construction of the Site began with a Melt Shop, Blooming Mill, Rod Mills, Wire Mills, Cleaning Houses, Annealing and Tempering Shops, and a Woven Wire Fabrics Factory.  In addition to the Steel Mill, a complete town for the workers was built, which included a hospital, schools, shops, banks and theaters (EPA, 2003). 

The Site was operated as a manufacturing plant primarily for the production of both steel and wire products between the years of 1906 through 1982.  During this time, in 1952, John A. Roebling's Sons Company sold the property to Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I).  During this period, the Roebling facility was involved in the production of wire products, until 1974 when stockholders shut down operations due to financial decline at the plant.  The Alpert Brothers Leasing Company (ABLC) purchased machinery from CF&I and formed Roebling Steel and Wire Company in October 1974. ABLC/RSWC operated the facility until May 1979, when a new company, the John A. Roebling Steel Corporation (JARSCO), was formed (EPA, 2003).  John A. Roebling Steel Company (JARSCO) was formed through financial assistance provided by the US Economic Development Authority, and private funds.  JARSCO ceased operations in November 1981 and began leasing portions of the property.  The Roebling Wire Company (RWC) purchased the wire mill equipment from JARSCO and leased the wire mill premises from January 1982 till 1983, when they filed for bankruptcy, but continued to occupy the property until October 1985. From 1978 to 1988, portions of the property were used for a variety of other industrial activities, including; a polymer-reclamation facility, a storage facility for vinyl products, a warehouse facility, a facility for repairing and refurbishing refrigerated trailers and shipping containers, a storage facility for insulation, and construction equipment storage facility. 

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) provided assistance to JARSCO starting in 1979 to promote companies and businesses on Site; all companies have since ceased operations (EPA, 2003).  EDA remained the creditor in possession of the real property and equipment until the property was turned over to Florence Township as a result of the 2001 condemnation proceeding.    

Operations (primarily the steel production operations) on Site produced raw materials and waste products, both in liquid and solid forms that were either stored or buried on the Site.  The lack of proper environmental controls on Site resulted in issues of noncompliance by regulatory agencies. 

The Site is currently being remediated in a manner that will allow it to return to productive use for industrial, commercial, or recreational purposes.  Additional investigations, remediation measures, and institutional controls would be needed in order for the property to be used for residential means.  As of date, the Site is currently under construction by the EPA.  Design objectives are for passive recreation.  A twelve-foot wide walkway will be constructed along the Delaware River side of the site, as well as  two walkways linking the adjacent neighborhoods at Ninth Avenue and the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Fifth Avenue.  Both walkways will provide connections to the pathway along the Delaware River.