(10/P83) TRENTON - Commissioner Bob Martin today announced that David E. Sweeney will serve as the Department of Environmental Protection’s new Assistant Commissioner for Site Remediation. 

“There are more than 20,000 known contaminated sites in New Jersey.  Cleaning them up is a priority of this Administration, and we need the right people with the right skills to do that,” said Commissioner Martin.  “Dave Sweeney has the technical knowledge, scientific expertise and record of working effectively with external stakeholders to ensure the success of our goals.”

Assistant Commissioner Sweeney will run the Site Remediation Program, which oversees the cleanup of contaminated sites ranging from large Superfund cases to heating oil and gasoline releases.

“I have worked closely with Dave and am thrilled that I can turn over the reins of the site remediation program to someone I know can ensure its success,” said Deputy Commissioner Irene Kropp, the outgoing Assistant Commissioner for Site Remediation.  “He has been instrumental in the transformation of our program to incorporate the use of newly licensed site remediation professionals.”

The recently established Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRP) Program licenses qualified individuals to oversee day-to-day management of contaminated site cleanups, under the DEP’s oversight and ensuring the same stringent environmental standards.  Under the new program, contaminated sites will be cleaned up in a more timely way—improving protection of the environment, public health and safety, and making underutilized properties available more quickly for development and return to the tax rolls.

Assistant Commissioner Sweeney is eager to continue the transformation of the Site Remediation Program and to oversee implementation of the new LSRP program. 

“I have dedicated my life to the environment, public health and safety, through public service at the county and state levels and as a volunteer firefighter and EMT,” Assistant Commissioner Sweeney said.  “I’m excited to continue the Site Remediation Program’s important work during this period of change and improvement.  I believe that our efforts will result in faster cleanups at a greater number of contaminated sites and thus the improvement of environmental quality in New Jersey.”

Assistant Commissioner Sweeney has been with the DEP since 1988.  Most recently, he has led multiple stakeholder workgroups focusing on implementation of the Site Remediation Reform Act and the new LSRP program.  These workgroups are responsible for the overhaul of technical regulations required to implement the LSRP program and for development of a series of complementary technical guidance documents.

He also has been DEP’s Chief of the Bureau of Emergency Response, which responds to discharges of hazardous materials; headed the group that provides technical support in geology and hydrogeology for cases in the Site Remediation Program; and was a Section Chief and Case Manager overseeing site remediation, including complex cleanups in New Jersey under the Spill Act, CERCLA, RCRA and ISRA.

Prior to the DEP, Assistant Commissioner Sweeney managed the environmental programs and laboratory at the Camden County Health Department.  He earned a BS in Natural Sciences from Thomas Edison College.  He has been active in the Fire Service for twenty years and served as an Emergency Medical Technician for thirteen years.

For more information about the DEP’s Site Remediation Program and the new LSRP program, please visit http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/.