LAWRENCE: Station cleanup proceeds

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The cleanup of the former Pit Stop service station at 1175 Lawrence Road, in the Eldridge Park neighborhood, is inching forward, according to Lawrence Township officials.
    The state Department of Environmental Protection has selected a contractor for the remedial investigation phase of the cleanup project, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said.
    The DEP is waiting for the contractor to submit a remedial work plan, Mr. Krawczun said. Once the DEP approves the remedial work plan, the contractor can begin to put the plan into action, he said.
    The remedial work plan should identify the extent of the remedial activity that needs to take place, Mr. Krawczun said. The next step calls for preparing a plan that identifies how the site would actually be cleaned up, then the final step is the actual cleanup.
    “We have no control over the process,” Mr. Krawczun said. “It’s difficult to respond to any timeframe (for the cleanup process to begin) because we are not the party overseeing this. My guess is there won’t be any actual cleanup this year.”
    Neighborhood residents have asked township officials to do something about the property for several years. The gas station operations at the site ended in 1997, but an automotive repair business continued until 2003 when the property was abandoned.
    Former property owner Alfred Ciarlone and the present owner, 1175 Lawrence Road LLC, each had been ordered to take steps for an environmental cleanup, but neither one complied with the DEP’s request. The present owner acquired the property in 2005.
    The property was turned over to the DEP’s Publicly Funded Element in 2008, which allows the DEP to study the property and clean it up. Because the identity of the owner is known, the DEP will seek reimbursement from 1175 Lawrence Road LLC.