New plan needed to continue
By: Stephanie Brown
MONROE Construction on a portion of an Applegarth Road commercial site can resume, but contaminated fill brought from Ford Motor Co. still remains on most of the 18 acres.
The state Department of Environmental Protection cleared part of the Applegarth site on Oct. 16, and granted Ford an extension to devise a clean-up plan for the rest of the site.
The DEP ordered Ford on March 8 to clean up several sites after reports indicated that the concrete fill sold to developers from its decommissioned plant in Edison contained polychlorinated biphenyl, or, PCB.
While PCBs are classified as a likely carcinogen, the state considers concrete debris containing low levels safe for reuse. Concentrations of PCBs less than 0.49 parts per million are allowed for "unrestricted uses," such as residential development, according to the DEP’s cleanup criteria. Under state law, concrete containing PCB levels up to 2 parts per million can be reused in "restricted" sites, including commercial development, but construction involving reuse material must have state approval.
Sampling of 11 sites, including the Applegarth site, turned up levels of PCBs ranging from undetectable to 2 parts per billion. The Applegarth Professional Center site, which is owned by Edgewood Properties Inc., is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Applegarth and Cranbury-Half Acre roads.
Work began in April 2005 on the center, which will have approximately 1 million square feet of space for eight medical office buildings, a bank, a restaurant and a CVS pharmacy.
Tetra Tech Environmental Management of Rockaway, hired by Ford, removed approximately 2,000 cubic yards of stockpiled fill in the spring. However, an additional 10,000 to 20,000 cubic yards of the concrete was mixed with 60,000 to 70,000 cubic yards of other, clean fill and spread across seven to 10 acres of the 18-acre site and still remains.
Tetra Tech offered two options for dealing with that fill: removal or remediation (mixing the contaminated material with clean fill).
Steve Maybury, a spokesman for the DEP’s Division of Remediation Management and Response, said Ford submitted a site investigation report on the remaining fill in August. The DEP issued Ford a Notice of Deficiency Oct. 16 because two major items were left out of the report an exact delineation of the extent of the contamination on the site and a final response plan for the removal of all material or an alternative proposal to the clean up.
Mr. Maybury said that Ford would probably need another extension to resubmit the investigation report with a work plan.
"Realistically, if there is more sampling needed, than they’re probably going to need additional time to get the sample tested," Mr. Maybury said.
The areas designated for the pharmacy and bank passed DEP approval, according to the notice.
Township Engineer Ernie Feist said those plots did not contain the fill.
A discrepancy on what to do with the remaining fill has caused the delay, said Mr. Maybury.
He said Ford wanted to remediate the concrete, but Edgewood Properties Inc., which owns the property, wanted the fill removed.
John Holt, spokesperson for Ford, said Ford is still analyzing the test results and is uncertain if the clean up would call for removal or remediation.
"We’re hoping in the next couple of weeks to have a clearer picture," Mr. Holt said.
Edgewood Properties were unavailable for comment.
The township sent a letter to the DEP on March 20 insisting that removal was necessary due to public concerns about the contaminants.
"Due to recent publicity of this matter, it is increasingly difficult to assure our citizens that any level of contamination is acceptable," wrote Mr. Feist.
"We haven’t changed our position," Mr. Feist said Wednesday.

