By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
FARRAH MAFFAI The above materials, dredged from the Belmar Marina and deposited at the Brick Township Landfill, were tested and found to be within state environmental standards.
BRICK –– Toxin levels in dredged spoils deposited at the Brick Landfill are within state environmental standards, according to a second round of tests on the materials. The results could play a factor in whether the township lifts its moratorium on dumping further dredge materials at Brick’s only Superfund site, located on Sally Ike Road.
Environmental engineers from the PMK Group, Cranford, sampled dredged materials at the site on Aug. 6 for the presence of hazardous compounds. The results, the PMK report said, "indicate that none of the targeted compounds was detected at levels above the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s most stringent soil cleanup criteria." In other words, the NJDEP would not only approve the materials for placement at the landfill, but for "any residential property in the state," Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said in a letter to landfill neighborhood residents.
The soils sampled were among the approximately 3,500 cubic yards of materials moved to the former landfill from the floor of the commercial Belmar Marina. Brick agreed to allow Belmar to place the spoils there for $5 per cubic yard, and planned to allow other municipalities to follow suit.
Brick officials saw the plan as a way to control erosion along the landfill’s uneven terrain that threatened abutting residential properties. Accepting materials from other towns would have raised between $1 million -$2 million in revenues to offset the former dump’s remediation costs.
However, a large group of residents objected to the spoil deposits at a council meeting because of the materials’ foul odor and potential effects on property values, as well as the plan’s environmental and health risks. Many were upset that the township failed to communicate their plans to the neighborhood.
The council rescinded its agreement with Belmar, and agreed to conduct new tests on the soil using a different firm.
Two private meetings were held by township officials regarding the dredge materials, Aug. 19. The first was held to update Point Pleasant Borough officials on the status of the landfill, because they once planned on placing dredge materials there. The second was held with landfill-area residents.
The township will hold a public information session on the landfill sometime this fall. Brick’s engineers and representatives from the NJDEP are expected to attend.