Brick To Receive EPA Award For French's Landfill Solar Field

The solar field at French’s Landfill that has been a sore subject at Brick Township Council meetings for months is finally giving township officials a reason to smile, as the town is scheduled to receive an award for the project.

The Environmental Protection Agency will be presenting an award to township officials Thursday at the landfill, recognizing Brick for turning the brownfield site into one producing renewable energy.

The ceremony is at 1:30 p.m. at the landfill on Sally Ike Road.

The EPA announced the award in a news release to media outlets earlier this week, saying it is highlighting the township’s “excellent work in reusing a federal Superfund site.”

Brick Mayor John Ducey said residents are welcome to attend the ceremony, which will include remarks from EPA Deputy Regional Administrator Catherine McCabe.

The project has been a sore spot, however, as the town has been forced to pay for mowing of the grass at the site, at a cost of $78,000, and lost out on nearly $2.6 million it stood to receive under an amendment to the contract that would have locked Standard Alternative into paying the town 4.5 percent interest on the bonds the town purchased on the project. The town received a rate of 2 percent when it bought the bonds last year.

The field of solar panels was seen as one of the few things the 42-acre tract could host when the project was initiated in 2010.