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Town Backs Effort To Redevelop French's Landfill
By Keith Hagarty
A contaminated dump, long since vacated, will soon be undergoing a change after the Township Council approved measures this week to redevelop French's Landfill.
As Brick's only Superfund site, the Brick Township Landfill, also known as French's Landfill, spans over 50 acres in a residential zone near Sally Ike Road. The landfill, which hasn't been used since the early 1980s, was once privately owned and received up to 120,000 gallons of waste per day.
In 1972, Brick Township acquired the site. Remaining on the site are five liquid-filled lagoons, about 180 empty drums and an old waste incinerator. Four on-site monitoring wells indicate high concentrations of organic solvents. The underlying Cohansey Aquifer was the source of drinking water for over 57,500 area residents.
Brick currently spends approximately $500,000 annually in monitoring expenses to make sure no contaminants are seeping into the environment.
The council authorized the Township Planning Board to undertake a preliminary investigation to determine whether a portion of the site can be incorporated into a redevelopment plan.
To move the plan forward, the town is applying for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund for an assessment of the landfill to determine the extent of on-site hazardous substance or hazardous waste, if any.
"This is formalizing the township's commitment that after a decision is made by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that we're going to look into redeveloping the site," said Township Business Administrator Scott M. Pezarras.
The town is looking into possibly utilizing the site for passive recreational purposes or manufacturer or industrial services.
"The township of Brick is committed to the redevelopment of the Brick Township Landfill for the purpose of redeveloping an inactive waste disposal site into an economically viable commercial development," the resolution states. "A realistic opportunity exists for the redevelopment of the Brick Township Landfill within a three-year period after the completion of the remediation of this site."
It wouldn't be the first time a tarnished area was redeveloped for the betterment of the community, said Councilman Dan Toth.
"I've seen, I think it was on the Discovery Channel, where in Colorado in a mountainous area, they redeveloped a garbage dump into a recreation area, and an area for skiing," said Toth. "I believe the methane that they were capping was powering the actual equipment there. It was a totally self-sufficient operation."
While Toth does not see Brick mirroring the exact measures of what the Colorado town was able to accomplish, he is optimistic about Brick being able to move forward with a redevelopment plan for French's Landfill. Toth pointed to a similar initiative in Atlantic City where they turned a landfill into an acclaimed golf course.
"It was pretty interesting to see how they developed (the dump) into a golf course," he said.
While passive recreation or an industrial use is being sought for the site, Pezarras cautioned against any misinformation about the any potential redevelopment plan for the site.
"It's important for the public to know that we're not talking about building homes over this (landfill)," said Pezarras.
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