Rockwell plans to build groundwater treatment facility

Company has been named "responsible party" by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for releasing volatile organic compounds into the soil in Hopewell Borough area

By Aleen Crispino
   Hopewell Borough Planning Board granted a historic certificate of appropriateness June 6 to Rockwell Automation of Milwaukee, Wis., owner of two vacant houses at 19 and 21 Somerset St., enabling it to apply for a permit to raze the two structures to make room for a groundwater treatment facility.
   Rockwell Automation, formerly known as Rockwell Manufacturing Co., operated at 57 Hamilton Ave. in Hopewell Borough (now The Hopewell Center) from the early 1900s to 1975, producing taximeters, water meters, airplane instruments and other devices.
   The company has been named "responsible party" by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for releasing volatile organic compounds, primarily trichloroethene or TCE, into the soil and groundwater there and at a 1.16 acre "vacant parcel" it owns at the east end of Somerset Street in Hopewell Township adjacent to Valley Oil.
   Two employees of BBL Environmental Services (BBLES) of Cranbury, an environmental engineering firm hired by Rockwell to conduct air, soil and groundwater remediation of the area (which extends from Somerset Street south to Lafayette Street and from Hamilton Avenue east to The King’s Path development in Hopewell Township) gave an informal presentation to the board on their plans for the new treatment facility.
   Jennifer Elder Brady, BBLES project manager, described "three phases" of the plan. The first phase, said Ms. Brady, is the demolition of 19 and 21 Somerset St. If the borough approves a demolition permit this week, she plans to begin demolition in July, said Ms. Brady.
   The second phase, excavation of the remaining contaminated soil at 19 and 21 Somerset St. to a depth of "probably 3½-4 feet," would then be able to proceed in August and September, in compliance with the time frame requested by NJDEP, said Ms. Brady.
   When the soil excavation is complete, the third phase, the construction of a recovery well and groundwater treatment building, would begin. "We would like to plan on constructing this building later this year or in the beginning of the winter," said John Persico, BBLES associate, who passed around an architectural design to Planning Board members. "We wanted to keep it residential," said Mr. Persico, describing the look of the building.
   Ms. Brady described it as a "pre-engineered metal building." She also gave board members a site plan.
   The recommendation for approval by the borough Historic Preservation Commission states that the building must be removed and the lots resold for residential use when groundwater remediation has been completed, which Ms. Brady said could take "five, 10, 15, 20 years."
   The company plans to pump out the groundwater, treat it on site to remove contaminants and discharge the decontaminated groundwater to a stream from which it will flow into Bedens Brook, said Mr. Persico in August 2006.
   TCE is a solvent once commonly used to degrease metals. Shallow deposits in groundwater can cause vapor intrusion into basements of homes and work places. According to a New York State Department of Health Web site: "In humans, long-term exposure to workplace air containing high levels of TCE (generally greater than about 40,000 micrograms of TCE per cubic meter of air) is linked to effects on the central nervous system (reduced scores on tests evaluating motor coordination, nausea, headaches, dizziness) and irritation of the mucous membranes. In laboratory animals, exposure to high levels of TCE has damaged the central nervous system, liver and kidneys, and adversely affected reproduction and development of offspring. Lifetime exposure to high levels of TCE has caused cancer in laboratory animals."
   The board will vote on the historical appropriateness of the new building and on a site plan application for its construction at a later date, said Planning Board Chair Bob Donaldson.
   Most of the proposed treatment building will be on lot three, or 21 Somerset St., said Ms. Brady.
   Several board members, including Mr. Donaldson, expressed the desire that the two lots be consolidated. This would facilitate the later resale of the lots for residential use, said Planning Board member Peter Macholdt.
   "If the building is over the property line, you have to consolidate," said Planning Board Attorney Christopher DeGrezia. He advised Ms. Brady and Mr. Persico not to wait for approval of NJDEP permit applications to start the site plan application process and to meet with borough Engineer Dennis O’Neal and borough Planner Carl Lindbloom "sooner rather than later."
   IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board voted to carry over to the July meeting a vote on a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of 9 E. Broad St., formerly a veterinary clinic, and its replacement by a restaurant with a "bells and whistles" theme. The borough Historic Preservation Commission recommended approval, said Chairman Dan Saunders, as it does not consider the old building "historically significant."
   Board members disagreed about whether the proposed copper, stone and glass design of the new building, particularly the vaulted roof, would fit with the architectural style of other buildings in the borough.
   Mr. Saunders noted that the roofline of the new building, at the end of a driveway and only partly visible from Broad Street, would be 2 feet taller than the existing building. "The whole question of a new design in an historic district is a challenge," said Mr. Saunders.
   Mr. Donaldson instructed the architect, Russell DiNardo of HACBM in Lawrence, to return to the next Planning Board meeting on July 11 with several roof design options and to ask the property owner to attend.