By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — Township Council members, acting as the Board of Health, rejected testing of groundwater at a contaminated compost site in the township, Monday.
Testing of the Alexander Road site’s groundwater had been called for by the Board of Health earlier this year, but moving in that direction would likely cost between $50,000 and $100,000, Business Administrator Christopher Marion said.
That figure, along with an administration recommendation to hold off on further action at the site seemed to sway the council members, who then voted to rescind an earlier vote to start testing at the property.
Based on Environmental Commission deliberations earlier this year, Mr. Marion said that he believed the best course for the township was to continue to meet with officials from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to figure out what the best next step would be for the township.
”This is definitely an important issue that we want to see addressed,” Mr. Marion said.
The final cleanup could cost several hundred thousand dollars, although some of that cost could be recouped through the use of state funding for the cleanup of brownfields, township administration officials said.
The site once served as a township dump. The current operation is scheduled to close at the end of this year. That usage led to the site’s contamination, according to township officials, who said the last round of DEP tests in 2003 showed very minimal contamination under DEP groundwater standards.
The Environmental Commission has apparently agreed to assist any residents who wish to test their own groundwater, Mr. Marion said.
But Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said the vast majority of residents living in the area of the compost site used piped-in water from the New Jersey American Water Co., rather than underground wells susceptible to contamination.
Both Mayor Hsueh and Council President Will Anklowitz said they supported holding off on the testing of the site and seeking funding from state environmental cleanup programs.
