'A Shining Example:' EPA Lauds Brick For Landfill-Turned-Solar Field

Superfund sites across the country have been turned into a variety of uses: parks, playgrounds and athletic fields.

Few, however, have been turned into a source of renewable energy, particularly one producing more than 7,400 megawatts of electricity. For that reason, officials from the Environmental Protection Agency presented Brick Township with an award Thursday afternoon.

“This is a shining example for the entire nation,” Catherine McCabe, deputy regional administrator for Region 2, said after she delivered prepared remarks and presented a plaque to Brick Township Mayor John Ducey commemorating the award.

Ducey, in accepting the award, acknowledged the project was started before he took office, and praised the work of Township Engineer Elissa Commins and Ken Schafer of the township engineering department, along with the work of assistant municipal planner Tara Paxton, in helping to bring the solar farm to fruition.

“This was the largest open wound in our community,” Ducey said, with contaminants that were spreading throughout the community before the landfill was capped and the solar panels installed.

“Now we are celebrating the site as an asset to the community,” McCabe said as she delivered her prepared remarks, noting the 24,000 panels produce enough electricity to power township buildings and has the potential to power hundreds of homes as well.

“This is a creative, productive use for the community,” McCabe said, “one that’s important in these times of climate change.”

The EPA evaluated different reuses for Superfund sites and the Brick solar farm was one of the few that was producing renewable, clean energy, said Gloria Sosa, EPA Region 2 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, which is why it was chosen to receive the award.

French’s Landfill is one of 114 Superfund sites currently listed in New Jersey; an additional 34 have been remediated and removed from the list, McCabe said. New Jersey has the highest number in the nation, which McCabe said reflected the fact that the state was far more proactive about getting contaminated sites listed.

Jon Gorin, EPA project manager for the site, said French’s Landfill remains on the Superfund list because while initial groundwater testing shows the cap installed to contain contaminants at the site already has had an impact in reducing seepage from the site, more testing needs to be completed.

“We want to make sure the cap is working,” Gorin said, a process that will likely take at least two more years.

In the meantime, the site will be producing energy -- a fact that Ducey wants to see highlighted as the town moves forward.

“Everyone keeps referring to it as ‘the landfill.’ Let’s start calling it the solar farm,” he said.

(PHOTOS: 1. Catherine McCabe, deputy regional administrator of the EPA’s Region 2 presents the award to Brick Mayor John Ducey. 2. Jon Gorin, EPA project manager; Ken Schafer of the Brick Township Engineering Department; Elissa Commins, Brick Township Engineer; McCabe; Ducey, Tara Paxton, assistant township planner and grants administrator, and Gloria Sosa, EPA Region 2 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, pose at the top of Brick’s solar field after the award presentation. 3. A closeup of the award. 4, 5 and 6. A few views of the solar field at the former French’s Landfill. Credits: Karen Wall)