No sludge for turf farm?

Pinelands asks NJDEP not to issue permits; groundwater concerns

by Gabe Donio, Gazette Staff Writer

THG/Gabe Donio
James Penza stands on land owned by John Scola where a second monitoring well is being dug. Penza said he was happy with the Pinelands letter regarding Beneficial Recycling and sludge.

HAMMONTON—In a letter from the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, Beneficial Recycling has been notified that there will be no further review on its application to apply biosolids on a local turf farm until more information is provided to the commission.
In the letter, the Pinelands Commission recommended that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) not issue permits for biosolids application.
According to the letter from the Pinelands dated March 27, the Pinelands Commission notified Beneficial Recycling that there would be no further review of its application for authorization to continue to apply biosolids (liquid or dewatered sludge) to 386 acres of an existing agricultural use and to apply biosolids to an additional 121 acres of the same existing use, until the commission received further information on a number of points related to the impact the sludge may be having on groundwater.
Beneficial Recycling supplies sewage sludge to Tuckahoe Turf Farm.
In addition, the letter from New Jersey Pinelands Commission Chief Permit Administrator Karen Young outlined how a “review of the submitted November 17, 2007 statistical analysis, evaluating the information gathered from previous years sampling, indicates that the application of biosolids is degrading groundwater . . .” The letter went on to list the increased levels of pH, nitrates and sodium found in test wells.
The letter from the Pinelands also said the commission would be recommending a dramatic action by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regarding the biosolids.
“Based on the above information, the narrow focus of the chemical constituents sampled and the limited groundwater sampling regimen, it has not been demonstrated that the proposed application of biosolids is consistent with the groundwater quality standard. By copy of this letter, we are advising the NJDEP of this determination and recommending that NJDEP permits not be issued,” Young wrote in the letter.
Town solicitor Brian Howell commented on the matter.
“This is a good example of what can result from government working with motivated and talented volunteers. We will continue to communicate with the DEP and the Pinelands to be sure that this problem is properly addressed,” Howell said.
Mayor John DiDonato said he had appointed a Turf Farm Committee in 2007 to focus on the issues related to the sludge and the farm.
“The Turf Farm Committee chaired by Tim Aglialoro has been doing a great job bringing light to the issues,” DiDonato said.
DiDonato said he was happy for the residents.
“I think the residents were very happy with the letter that was issued by the Pinelands and the progress that has been made by the committee,” DiDonato said.
“I think it is exciting. We are making a lot of progress here. I would like to see the end of the sludge business out here,” Aglialoro said.
Aglialoro is a resident of Myrtle Street.
On March 31, local residents James Penza and David Rizzotte were on a property owned by local resident John Scola, adding a second monitoring well to the well they built two months ago at their own expense. The first monitoring well is two months old, and Penza said tests of water and soil at four-and-a-half feet and nine feet revealed “some things that concerned us.”
Penza and Rizzotte are neighboring property owners and longtime opponents of the biosolids application.
“I’m extremely happy. It’s been a long time and a long fight. It doesn’t belong in Hammonton, New Jersey,” Penza said.
Penza said the town’s efforts in recent years, including meetings held on the local level with state officials, have been appreciated.
“It helped tremendously,” Penza said.
Rizzotte, a farmer who owns farmland near the turf farm, said the matter was not resolved.
“This is an ongoing proceeding,” Rizzotte said, declining further comment.
Penza said he felt a meeting held between representatives of the town and neighborhood residents was also beneficial.
“It was informative for the town. We expressed our concerns. This has been going on for 16 years,” Penza said.
In its March 27 letter, the Pinelands requested additional information and action from Beneficial Recycling.
“If the applicant wishes to submit additional information to address whether or not the past application of biosolids has degraded groundwater quality, a more comprehensive sampling regimen is required. For example, additional groundwater quality information would be required from points just below the water table, midway through the water column, and above the first hydrologically restrictive layer to attain representative groundwater samples considering contaminant density and solubility in groundwater. Such additional information may necessitate installation of new wells or retrofitting existing wells,” Young wrote.
Young then explained the reason for the need for new or retrofitted monitoring wells.
“This is because, based on the information provided to our office on November 13, 2007 concerning the existing monitoring wells, the methodology utilized to collect the water samples did not appear to be discrete in nature and would have permitted the mixing and resultant dilution of contaminants in a manner that may not be reflective of actual concentrations in the groundwater,” Young wrote.
The question of what the sludge is made from continues to remain unanswered, according to Young’s letter.
“In addition, to date, a full chemical characterization of the sludge source material has not been provided. Therefore, past sampling has not yet determined if the application of biosolids is degrading groundwater through the introduction of a wide range of contaminants including, but not limited to, pesticides and organic polymers used in sludge thickening and other constituents that may be present in the sludge source. In addition, so called “emerging” contaminants such as personal care products, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors and hormones have not been addressed,” Young wrote.
Young also wrote that “undertaking a more comprehensive groundwater sampling program is required if the applicant wishes to demonstrate that the application of biosolids is consistent with the applicable groundwater quality standards.”
According to the letter, the Pinelands also may request an escrow from Beneficial Recycling in order to retain a consultant to review the groundwater proposal in addition to the Pinelands review, “because of the complex issues involved in the application.”