Your Turn
Guest Column
Michelle Bardsley
Utilities authority behaves
badly in wake of disaster
I am writing to let you know about how the Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA) is handling (and I use that term loosely) the sewer pipeline break that occurred on March 2.
After numerous Borough Council meetings at which the residents affected by the break were able to voice their concerns and were told all of their concerns would be taken care of, I am writing to tell you exactly what has been done — nothing.
After it was stated at council meetings that the soil in both the park on Boehmhurst Avenue and in the residents’ yards would be replaced (meaning the removal of the contaminated soil and placing new topsoil in the affected area), it has not happened. It was stated that they put 6 inches of new soil in the park; however, it was placed on top of the contaminated ground. I measured with a yardstick and found only 2 inches of soil, which was only placed in half the park.
As far as residents’ yards are concerned, we received a letter from the MCUA’s law firm stating that they will replace the soil in our yards and settle any claims as long as we agree to sign a letter that states we can make no further claims in the future should something else result from the sewer main break.
I am highly disgusted with the MCUA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the mayor and the council. We did not cause this sewer main break, yet we are being punished for it.
All I am asking for is a safe backyard for my children. I will not sign a letter stating that I will make no further claims if something else should arise from this.
The MCUA is not concerned with our health or the health of our children, and that letter just proves to me that they are hiding something. I have taken the soil sampling report to many people, and they have said it’s a joke. We were told by the MCUA’s environmental engineers that there is no way to measure fecal coliform or fecal streptococci in soil. I have even looked on the Internet myself to see if there is a standard, and low and behold, there is, for both water and soil.
I’m writing this letter in the hope that there is someone out there who knows about contamination from this type of sewer line break and can help us. The summer is upon us, and I am forced to have my children play in my front yard, not to mention that all of their outdoor toys were ruined by raw sewage.
Also, we now have puddles of standing water in the back of our property, and these are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The MCUA did some work in that area, claiming it would regrade the area so we would not have standing puddles of water. Since it did the work back there, the water has become worse, so now my family is at risk of contracting West Nile virus.
I hope that the media will look into this matter and bring to light what the MCUA is really all about.
Michelle Bardsley is a resident of Sayreville