Officials report that the Environmental Protection Agency will demolish the former E.C. Electroplating plant, nearly a year after the site was added to a federal Superfund list.

The EPA has also pledged to clean up 13 homes near the plant, the site of a chemical spill that leaked chromium into the soil and contaminated the groundwater in the southwest portion of the city.

EPA and city officials were joined by Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and Rep. Bill Pascrell in announcing the demolition plans, which will include knocking down structures on the Clark Street property in order to remove contaminated soil.

The issues stem from a 1983 spill at the plant, which closed in 2009. According to EPA documents, a partially buried storage tank on the property failed, leaking about 3,640 gallons of chromic acid into the soil and groundwater.

The agency began monitoring the site after the plant closed in 2009, and testing last year found that hexavalent chromium, known to cause cancer, was present "above acceptable levels" in the basements of 13 homes.