EMERSON—Construction on the borough’s 147-unit, 15,000-square-foot retail mixed-use Emerson Station redevelopment project has been suspended due to soil contamination found at a former dry cleaner site.
Construction Code Official Richard Silvia said at the mayor and council meeting of Oct. 19 that the finding of perchlorethylene — a cleaning agent commonly used in dry cleaning — was found in soil at the former Ranch Cleaners at 190 Kinderkamack Road, which was demolished to make way for the downtown redevelopment project.
Silvia said the on-site construction superintendent told him work on site could be delayed three to six weeks as the redeveloper’s licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) awaits word from the state Department of Environmental Protection on whether work may continue or soil remediation is required.
The DEP considers perchlorethylene (PCE) a potential carcinogen, and it is regulated as a hazardous substance, DEP spokesperson Larry Hajna told Pascack Press.
We reported in 2019 that there evidently were environmental trouble spots on Block 419, where the borough’s redeveloper partner intended to start building shops and luxury and affordable housing that year as part of its Emerson Station project.
In 2018, when the matter was before the Land Use Board, and 2019, resident Lorraine McQueeney questioned why no environmental testing was done on properties used by two gasoline stations and a dry cleaner in the redevelopment zone.
She was told then that any site cleanups necessary were the responsibility of an LSRP hired by the redeveloper. She also questioned the liability for potential site cleanup costs.
According to lawyer Joseph A. Paparo of Porzio Bromberg and Newman, then representing Accurate Builders and Developers of New Jersey, its LSRP turned up “areas of concern” on Kinderkamack Road between Lincoln Boulevard and Linwood Avenue.
Reporting to the mayor, Borough Council, and the public on March 19, 2019, Paparo declined to give specifics, saying that the areas were being taken care of professionally and that the state Department of Environmental Protection would have the final say on the work plan.
At the time, Mayor Danielle DiPaola asked Paparo point blank if the land was clean enough to build on, he said that his client had performed its “complete due diligence.”
“Once the buildings are demolished it [the project] can be built to residential standards. […] The good news is that with this redevelopment project happening those [areas of concern] will be addressed. Without it they wouldn’t,” he said.
He said he could not share the details of any environmental findings.
“With confidentiality agreement we can’t disclose those reports. We can’t turn those over—nor would we,” he said.
He added, “If I’m an attorney for a seller, they don’t want to know the results because if they do then they have an obligation to clean it up, even if the buyer walks.”
Borough Attorney John McCann put in, “If there’s any danger to the public, DEP is under an obligation to report it to us. The question is whether the DEP approves it, and that’s the bottom line.”
Silvia said the LSRP found the soil contamination and turned the results over to DEP. The LSRP is responsible for managing site environmental testing and any cleanup required by DEP.
Working with DEP, the LSRP must determine how to remedy any existing soil contamination to meet DEP standards.
At the Oct. 19 meeting, DiPaola wondered why soil testing had only recently occurred. Silvia noted he had told prior construction superintendents to do environmental testing but that no action had been taken.
As a councilwoman and mayoral candidate, DiPaola argued against the scope of the redevelopment project and the process by which it came to be. She has since been named in legal action, along with the borough, by Emerson’s redeveloper partner.
One of the outstanding issues centers on the borough missing a deadline to have the redeveloper follow through on construction on an emergency services building elsewhere in town after the previous administration signed off on handing over land toward the redevelopment project.
Contamination in Hillsdale and Township of Washington
Over the last two years, a the former Alexander cleaners in Hillsdale has been undergoing soil excavation and remediation as a result of prior perchloroethylene contamination found in soil and groundwater.
And the Township of Washington had to demolish its DPW headquarters and is undergoing excavation at the site to remove 950 tons of soil that accumulated toxins from tank leaks over decades.
In other action:
More inspectors needed
Also Oct. 19, Silvia told the Borough Council that starting in 2022, when construction starts on Emerson Station, he’ll be needing at least two additional Construction Department personnel, specifically for plumbing and electrical code inspections.
He said current inspectors are part-time, working as few as four hours per week.
He said once construction resumes the contractor will be redoing footings for a new parking garage. He said some done previously only went 12 inches deep as opposed to the 36-inch depth required by code. He said all footings would be made to a 36-inch depth.
“The construction down there is going to be massive,” said Silvia, noting he would be requesting two inspectors in next year’s budget.
“It’s going to require us to hire more personnel” to meet residents’ needs and inspection oversight at the redevelopment project, he said.
“We need to hire more people to make sure this [Emerson Station] work is done safely and correctly,” Silvia said.
He noted that the permit fees to be generated by the redevelopment “are going to be astronomical” and that the two new inspectors should be there to monitor that code is followed as development continues.
Silvia reported that asbestos had been removed from the former Chinese restaurant. He said construction debris from a former restaurant on site that should have been removed was discovered and ordered to be removed. He said the redeveloper’s new construction superintendent has been helpful and keeps updated plans in his office on site.
He said the new superintendent was the third superintendent since work began.
Silvia said recently he had not “held up any permits as long as they’ve completed everything in proper fashion.”
— With John Snyder