PRINCETON: Tulane Street contaminant ID’d

By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
   A contaminant has been identified in the ground on Tulane Street adjacent to the surface parking lot construction site, but will not require remediation measures to be taken by Princeton Borough, according to Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi.
   Mr. Bruschi said a draft report from the borough’s environmental consultant indicated that the contaminant was some kind of cleaning byproduct. It was not petroleum-based as had originally been thought, he said.
   ”None of the levels appear to be levels that will require any remediation,” Mr. Bruschi said. The borough is likely to remove the contaminated soil anyway, even if it is not required to do so, he said.
   The contaminant appears to be localized as well, confined to the area adjacent to the Princeton Record Exchange, Mr. Bruschi said.
   In September, a Public Service Electric & Gas Co. contractor discovered the contaminant while digging on Tulane Street. PSE&G was in the early stages of work burying overhead wires and upgrading parts of the downtown Princeton power grid, when the contaminant was discovered and all work was stopped. The work was being done prior to commencement of construction of a mixed-use building on the surface parking lot site by developer Nassau HKT Partners, phase two of the borough’s downtown redevelopment project.
   The borough is waiting for a final signed report from environmental consultant PMK Group, and will hopefully be able to start work on the site soon thereafter, Mr. Bruschi said.
   The delay will mean that street work for the project will not be completed by the holiday season as originally scheduled, according to Mr. Bruschi. “We probably aren’t going to catch up until after the holidays unfortunately,” he said.
   Adjustments will be made to minimize any disruption, Mr. Bruschi said, with a priority given to work on Spring Street so access to the Spring Street garage will be available for holiday shoppers.