$6.5 million paid to clean up site near school

New Jersey has secured $6.5 million for environmental remediation of 14 acres next to a Camden elementary school, paving the way for a new park, according to the state Schools Development Authority.

The property, adjacent to the Catto Community School, is the site of the old Stockton Station apartment complex. For several years, it was the center of legal wrangling over who should pay to clear it of hazardous chemicals.

The $6.5 million was paid by H. Kohnstamm & Co., Warner Jenkinson Co., and Sensient Colors Inc. following the May settlement of a lawsuit in which the companies admitted no wrongdoing, the authority said.

The settlement was announced this week, and the payment was made in August, according to the state.

A spokeswoman for Sensient did not return a call for comment. It is unclear whether the other two entities still exist as corporations.

"Simply put, public money should not be used to clean up and restore properties contaminated by private industry," Attorney General Paula Dow said in a statement.

In 2003, the most recent owner of the former apartment complex parcel, Pleasant Gardens Realty Corp., sued the three companies, which at different times owned an adjacent site, alleging they were responsible for dumping hazardous substances in an adjoining pond. Though the contamination occurred between the 1920s and 1950s, Pleasant Gardens said the companies were responsible for the cleanup.

The property was purchased for $8.1 million by the Schools Development Authority through eminent domain in 2007. In 2009, the authority, the Camden Redevelopment Agency, and the Department of Environmental Protection joined Pleasant Gardens in seeking money from the companies.

The remediation work is now complete, and the park is being developed by the Camden Redevelopment Agency.