Passaic River Listed As One of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2025 Due to Toxic Pollution

Contact: Hawk Hammer, National Communications and Media Director, Hhammer@americanrivers.org 
Isiah Cruz, Founder & CEO at Ama Earth Group, isiah@amaearthgroup.com

4/16/2025 Washington D.C. —   American Rivers is today, announcing the Passaic River as #4 on its annual list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®. Historic and rampant contamination for more than two centuries by chemical manufacturing — including of Agent Orange and DDT — and textile industries led to the lower Passaic River being designated a Superfund site in 1984. While restoration efforts are underway, cuts and changing priorities at the Environmental Protection Agency cannot derail decades of effort. 

“For far too long, the Passaic River has remained one of the most contaminated waterways in our nation,” said Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). “Toxic waste dumped by corporate polluters into the river threatens the health of surrounding communities. It is critical that the Environmental Protection Agency prioritizes the cleanup work that has been dragging on for decades and hold responsible parties, such as Occidental Chemical Corporation, accountable until the River is completely clean and restored.”

“There’s a future out there in which the residents of New Jersey don’t hear the Passaic River mentioned and automatically think ‘dumping ground’,” said Adam Schellhammer, Mid-Atlantic regional director for American Rivers. “Restoration has begun, but full funding and commitments for the remainder of the cleanup would go a long way towards helping this river and the communities along its banks.”

The Passaic River flows approximately 80 miles through both rural and highly urban environments before emptying into the Newark Bay.  Its watershed is home to ten reservoirs and three drinking water facilities that serve more than two million people. Its publicly-accessible parks and natural areas serve over two and a half million people.

The river suffers from a high accumulation of toxic waste that includes heavy metals, PCBs, and very high concentrations of dioxins in the riverbed sediments in the river’s tidal zone below Dundee Dam. The worst of this pollution is located in the lowermost eight miles, from Belleville, New Jersey to Newark Bay. 

“The Passaic River is one of New Jersey’s primary waterways, yet it has been largely neglected and mistreated over the years,” said Isiah Cruz, Founder & CEO of environmental AI company Ama Earth Group. “This river supports over $15 billion in annual economic value across commerce, water systems, real estate, recreation, and more. Everyone in New Jersey and the surrounding metro areas stands to benefit from restoring its health and honoring its ecological and historical significance to the region.”

Many of the companies responsible for the pollution have agreed to fund a portion of the cleanup effort, which is estimated to cost in total as much as $1.8 billion. In 2022 a group of 85 companies entered into an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency to pay $150 million toward the cleanup. But how the additional costs will be paid, and by whom, is still being negotiated.

“The Passaic River has long been treated as a dumping ground, and our Ironbound community—an Environmental Justice Community designated by the EPA and DEP—bears the burden of this pollution daily,” said Tanisha Garner, President of the Ironbound Super Neighborhood Council. “Industrial polluters like Covanta and Darling threaten our air and water, while Agent Orange contamination lingers in the river. As stewards of the Earth, we have a duty to restore what’s been damaged—for justice, public health, and future generations.”

American Rivers and our partners Ama Earth Group and Ironbound Super Neighborhood Council are urging the Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Office to maintain its commitment to the people of New Jersey and ensure that the cleanup continues to be a top priority. This means continued support of the experienced federal staff working to advance the cleanup, as well as maintaining proactive oversight of the Superfund legal process to ensure participation by all responsible parties. 

Learn more about America’s Most Endangered Rivers 2025, including other rivers and our selection process.  

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American Rivers is a national conservation organization working to make every river clean and healthy for people and wildlife. We combine evidence-based solutions with enduring partnerships to safeguard the 3.5 million miles of rivers and streams that are essential to our nation’s clean drinking water, extraordinary wildlife, and strength of our communities. For more than 50 years, our staff, supporters, and partners have been driven by a common belief: Life Depends on Rivers. AmericanRivers.org

Ama Earth Group is an Indigenous technology company dedicated to diagnosing and improving ecosystem health through advanced environmental AI and ancestral ecological wisdom. We provide environmental professionals with innovative tools to accurately assess ecological conditions, streamline restoration planning, and simplify compliance. Revenue generated by our platform directly supports community-driven restoration projects that we lead and organize, prioritizing Indigenous communities and climate-vulnerable regions. At Ama Earth Group, we believe a regenerative future is possible when modern technology meets traditional knowledge. AmaEarthGroup.com