BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE – Testing for environmental concerns at the former Nike Missile Base is set to begin, pending Township Council approval.
The council is expected to pass a resolution Monday awarding a professional service contract to CME Associates, Sayreville, for the environmental evaluation. The contract provides for a Phase I environmental assessment in the amount of $3,860 and a Phase II environmental site investigation in the amount of $56,590.
The work will be done through an interlocal agreement between the township and the Board of Education, which used the land for its transportation hub until January, when it moved its buses from the site amid contamination concerns.
“We will be paying separately,” Board President Annette Hopman said. School and township officials said the interlocal agreement will result in an overall cost savings to Old Bridge residents.
Mayor Jim Phillips said the Board of Education participated in the selection process that resulted in the CME contract. Although the resolution is still subject to a vote, Phillips said he sees no reason why the council would not approve it, and testing can soon begin.
The Phase I study will identify areas of concern on the property. Phase I testing has already been done on 40 acres of the Nike site that are owned by the federal government but sought for purchase by the township. That study identified 11 areas where grass would not grow, and those locations are targeted for further study, Phillips said.
No Phase I study has been conducted on the adjacent land owned by the Board of Education.
“They might observe similar things on the Board of Education site,” the mayor said.
The Phase II study, Phillips said, seeks to determine what is causing the conditions, such as the dirt patches.
The Board of Education relocated its school bus fleet and most of its transportation workers from the Nike site, located at Route 9 and Jake Brown Road, in January after concerns were raised that recent cases of cancer among several workers may be related to contamination on the land. Officials maintain that there is no reason to believe the illnesses are related to the property, but are performing the testing to be certain.
“Knowing what I know now, I want to make sure there’s nothing on that site,” Phillips said.
If there is an environmental problem, he said, the federal government will be responsible for cleaning the site.
The township has expressed interest in buying the land, for which the federal government asked $227,000. The mayor has said he feels that is a good buy for property so close to Route 9.
While the federal government said it would pay for any environmental work needed, should the township wish to purchase the land, it may not be responsible for cleaning contamination on land acquired by the school board during the 1970s.
But the board is making safety a priority.
“Until they guarantee that everything is clear, these people will not be back on this site,” Hopman said.
Though most school transportation workers have been moved from the Nike site, three mechanics still work there, Hopman said this week. Plans are in motion to move them, but the district needs to find a garage large enough to house school buses.
According to Superintendent of Schols Simon Bosco, the school buses are currently being stored at district schools. He said officials did not want to rent space for a central bus garage, which could cost $7,000 to $8,000 a month.
The Nike Missile Base was used by the federal government from 1955 to 1968 to help defend the metropolitan area from possible attack by the Soviet Union. It held 20 Ajax and 12 Hercules missiles. None were ever launched, and they were eventually removed from the site.