Funding for the cleanup of contamination on Ford Avenue took center stage last week when state representatives met with the Milltown Borough Council.
Two representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spoke at the council’s Dec. 8 meeting. Project Manager William Lindner and Colleen Kokas, both of the DEP Office of Brownfield Reuse, said grant funding is available through the state agency for remediation of the 22.5- acre former industrial property. Since the redevelopment site is designated as a brownfield, the project would be eligible for monies from the Brownfield and Contaminated Site Remediation Act (BCSRA).
“We want to make sure the remediation that is selected is protective of the end use of that site,” Kokas said.
Funding from the DEP would cover 75 percent of cleanup costs at a rate of $5 million per year. The other 25 percent would be paid by the firm redeveloping the property, which is slated for a mix of housing and retail uses. Kokas said the borough or DEP can pursue reimbursement for the cleanup from responsible parties, but that typically occurs after the cleanup has taken place.
According to Lindner, $9 million has been allocated to the project so far, but that number is not definite.
“It depends on the remedy that’s selected,” Kokas said. “Actually, the information is coming more from [the town] than from us.”
The issue, like all of those surrounding the redevelopment, is not a simple one. Contaminants of various types remain at the site from decades of now-defunct industrial uses, including the Michelin Tire Co. It is yet to be seen whether the contamination will be cleaned up through soil capping or by complete removal.
While capping has been proposed by the Ford Avenue Redevelopment Agency and approved by the DEP, some officials and residents say they do not see it as a sufficient means of dealing with the problem, especially since residences are planned there.
A lawsuit filed by the property owner, Lawrence Berger, against the borough and its redevelopment agency complicates matters further. The borough spent several years planning for a condemnation process that would allow for its chosen developer, Omar Boraie, to redevelop the tract. Berger alleged last year in the suit that the town moved illegally in making plans for the land, among other accusations.
As litigation wages on, it remains unclear which entity will have control over the property and how contaminants there are cleaned up. Until the lawsuit is decided, no cleanup plan is set in stone, also leaving funding considerations up in the air.
“The key to this is all wrapped up into one big ball,” Lindner said.
While the borough, according to its own plans, would be eligible to receive funding for the majority of the cleanup, that would change if Berger wins the lawsuit and retains the property. The grants available through the DEP for private property owners are much smaller, Kokas said.
“Rarely is a private property owner eligible … and not for that amount,” Kokas said.
Mayor Gloria Bradford asked whether the DEP would be willing to fund a total cleanup, since the agency approved capping as a sufficient form of remediation for the site. Lindner said that if the cleanup plan was one that fostered the health of humans and the environment, it would be eligible for funding. He added that it is up to borough officials to determine the best plan of action, which the DEP would support.
Kokas pointed out the caveat, saying that if plans for the redevelopment ended up without housing as part of them, the DEP would not fund a total cleanup.
According to Lindner, the level of cleanup required depends on pollutants that exist in a given area. In parts of the site where chlorobenzine has been discovered, remediation must go beyond capping, as it is a volatile chemical. Areas that are approved for capping are those that contain contaminants that have become immobile within the ground, posing less of a threat.
While capping is not allowed as a means of remediation on properties that are to include single-family homes, the method is permitted for town homes and condominiums, which are proposed for this site. The reason for the difference is that homeowners’ associations create rules for such developments, and residents there are not permitted to make improvements to their property at will, such as planting a tree, which would pose a possible threat due to underlying contaminants, Lindner said.
“The areas that would be capped would be direct contact issues,” Lindner said.
The borough’s redevelopment plan calls for 276 townhouses and condominiums, 25,800 square feet of commercial space, and several acres of open space. Berger, in court papers, has proposed 550 housing units, and it was not clear if he would include any commercial construction. In terms of density, Berger’s plan is for about 25 residences per acre, as compared to 15 per acre in the borough’s plan.
If Berger wins the lawsuit, he will not necessarily be required to clean up the property to meet residential standards. He might be permitted to use capping and still build homes there, or use partial capping and do a total cleanup of only some areas, according to Lindner.
“There are a lot of ways to skin a cat,” Lindner said.
Monies already spent by Berger, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) for environmental testing could possibly be used to make up the 25 percent of the project’s costs that will not come from the DEP, Kokas said.
Though testing has been done at the site by various entities, there is still more to be done. An area where testing has not been completed is one that affects all of the town’s residents.
“The Ford Avenue site is an unusual situation, as our water supply is actually on the property,” resident Carol Jegou said, referring to the Mill Pond.
Any contaminants in the pond would impact residents’ drinking water. Lindner said DEP officials are in the process of testing water there to determine whether additional cleanup measures will be necessary. Monitoring wells are also being installed near the powerhouse on the site, he said.
While results have yet to be determined in terms of the water supply, Lindner said it is likely that, if contaminants were to seep into the groundwater, it would have happened already, over the last 100 years.
Milltowners for a Sensible Ford Avenue Redevelopment, a citizens’ group, are against capping as a plan of remediation. They have been pushing for a total cleanup since the redevelopment agency came forth with plans for capping.
“If you change the remedy to 100 percent cleanup, one thing that needs to be made clear to everybody — not that I’m for or against it either way — it could, or would, prolong the cleanup,” Lindner said.

