DEP to buy U.F. landfills
The borough of Allentown will monitor the landfills, even though the acreage is located in Upper Freehold.
Upper Freehold Township Committee members expressed surprise at a June 17 meeting when some township and borough residents in attendance expressed support for follow through with the preservation project. Upper Freehold had backed out of the project last year after receiving an environmental report on contamination at the site, and believed Allentown had done the same.
According to DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese, the DEP will solely own the 4.5 acres of the site containing the landfills; the department seeks to close on the property this summer, he said. The DEP and Allentown would co-own the approximately 40 remaining acres of the site, according to Ragonese. Upper Freehold would not have to pay for or manage the property, he said. Several municipalities in the state manage properties outside of their boundaries, he said.
Upper Freehold had entered into a partnership with Allentown to purchase 101 acres of open space adjacent to Heritage Park in Allentown and Upper Freehold. A year ago, the township backed out of the second phase of the project after an environmental firm determined that the 45-acre tract along Breza Road formerly contained two landfills. Upper Freehold had also considered the parcel as a site for affordable housing.
In an Oct. 5, 2009, letter to Upper Freehold, project manager Kathy Haake, of Trust for Public Land, wrote that the DEP’s Hazardous Waste Management Program determined that the landfill closure by landowner Neil Van Cleef met all requirements and ongoing management expenses would be paid by Van Cleef. The Upper Freehold Township Committee said it would discuss the subject at its July 8 meeting.
