Politics & Government
POLL: Should All Pollution in Wood Ave. Affordable Housing Soil be Removed?
Not all of the contaminated soil has been removed from the Wood Avenue Affordable Housing property because there is an area that of contamination within DEP guidelines and within wetlands.
Manalapan Affordable Housing is constructing an 80-unit affordable housing development known as the Wood Avenue Apartments on Wood Avenue, Rt. 522, right outside of Englishtown.
According to the News Transcript, the Wood Avenue Apartments developer appeared before the Planning Board on March 22 to gain approval on the construction of a fence around two sections of the land where low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are present, and will remain.
A large amount of the contaminated soil has been removed from the site, but one and a half acres with contaminated soil will remain because the levels of PCBs measured are in compliance with the Department of Environmental Protection’s standards, the applicants attorney David Oberlander said, according to the Transcript.
John McNaboe, the Chairman of the Planning Board, told the applicants that placing a fence around the contaminated soil will only tempt young boys to climb the fence no matter what warning signs surround the area, the News Transcript reported.
The applicant’s Licensed Site Remediation Professional, Kenneth Paul, told the Board that removing this soil would destroy the wetlands that are there, the Transcript reported.
The Board voted to approve the use of a fence around the contaminated areas subject to the approval of the Manalapan’s LSRP or until the DEP finds a solution, according to the News Transcript.
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