Summary of Resident Meeting on July 15 Regarding Landfill
On Thursday, July 15, Mayor Dalina and Township officials met with Inwood Estates residents near the Landfill to provide an update and answer questions. Below is a summary of that discussion for residents who could not attend.
Mayor Dalina updated all residents that the Township has committed to design and construct a dedicated force main for the safe disposal of leachate from the Landfill. The Mayor reiterated that based upon advice from the Township’s environmental expert, reintroduction of leachate into the sanitary sewer shared by residents is no longer an option. Township officials briefly described the technical next steps for constructing the force main, which will exit the Landfill on Spotswood Gravel Hill Road and travel directly to the Avenue K sewerage pumping station and then directly to the County treatment facility, with no lateral connections to any homes.
The Council already introduced a bond ordinance on June 28, and the Mayor has asked the Council to adopt that ordinance on August 2. The Township will also award a contract for the design of the force main on August 2, to move as quickly as possible toward construction. BFI/Republic will also need to reconfigure some of its leachate collection and conveyance infrastructure on the Landfill to connect to the new dedicated force main. The Township reached out to BFI/Republic to coordinate that effort. Township officials estimate it will take 6-8 months for design and construction. The Mayor continues to urge the NJDEP and BFI/Republic to support the dedicated force main. But he will not wait to implement the safest solution. The priority is to permanently solve the leachate disposal problem by eliminating both the physical pathway to residents and the leachate trucking operation. As this safety improvement should not ultimately be a cost to the taxpayers, he and the Council will fight to secure reimbursement.
Mayor Dalina recognized that while the dedicated force main solves the leachate disposal problem, there are several other potential concerns regarding this Landfill. The Township’s environmental expert, Behram Turan, P.E., LSRP, has been evaluating every aspect of this Landfill. Mr. Turan will submit an Expert Report summarizing his professional opinions related to the design and operation of the Landfill, including its leachate collection and conveyance system, cap, gas collection, among other factors.
Several residents raised questions about health impacts from the Landfill. The Mayor stated that he has asked the NJ Department of Health (DOH) to conduct health assessments in the neighborhood, as the DOH is best suited to implement such assessments. Mr. Turan’s Expert Report will also include a set of recommendations to the NJDEP regarding further testing and potential action items that NJDEP and the responsible party should take to ensure that health and safety of residents is protected.
Finally, Township officials relayed that the NJDEP verbally informed the Township that BFI/Republic will be installing a monitoring well below Manhole 13, on the Lani Street hill, in the coming days. They will also be cleaning a pipe in the leachate collection system on that same hill, and attempting to take video footage inside that pipe. Residents will see some equipment on the hill during those activities.