Freeholder Curley Opposes Howell Solid Waste Station Proposal

HOWELL, NJ — Residents of Howell and those in neighboring towns have support in their fight against a plan to allow a solid waste transfer station in the township.

Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley released a letter on Monday stating his opposition to the proposal by Resource Engineering to turn a recycling center on Randolph Road into a solid waste transfer station. The company, owned by the husband of former Monmouth County Clerk M. Claire French, wants to expand its operations from processing tree stumps, untreated wood and brush to construction debris, and bulky cleanout debris "for sorting, removing recyclable material from, and transferring to an out of state disposal facility for final disposal."

The materials can contain asbestos, lead-based paint, varnish, creosote and adhesives, "leading to the need for potentially have hazardous waste to dispose of from the site," according to information from the state Department of Environment Protection in a report by Shore News Network.

Those issues as well as significant concerns about hundreds of heavy trucks coming in and out of the site each week have stirred significant opposition in Howell, where more than 1,000 people have signed petitions posted by a group called Stop The Dump to urge both township officials and the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders to oppose the plan.

The decision is in the hands of the freeholders, following a decision in 2017 by the county's Solid Waste Advisory Council to recommend approval. The freeholders sent it back to the SWAC with an order to hold a public hearing on the proposal in Howell. According to testimony at a January public meeting, the support of a town's officials is needed for a proposal to site a facility to be approved.

Howell Mayor Theresa Berger and Councilmen Robert Nicastro and Bob Walsh are on record as opposing the facility.

It's not just Howell authorities who are opposing the plan. Officials with the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority said they have submitted requests for information about the proposed facility through Open Public Records Act because the facility is near the North Branch of the Metedeconk River and Dick's Brook, a major North Branch tributary. Both are considered Category 1 waters in New Jersey; the Brick MUA draws drinking water for more than 100,000 residents from the Metedeconk River.

"This area is underlain primarily by sandy, well-drained soils that are in close hydraulic connection with these waterways. Essentially, any release of pollutants to the ground surface has the potential to affect the Metedeconk River and our water supply," said Joseph Maggio, the MUA's director of water quality.

"I strongly oppose this ill-conceived notion and ask: Why would anyone support the measure?" Curley said in the letter released Monday. "The issues at stake are clear: Should we allow cross contamination of wells and sewers to affect towns? Do we risk poisoning the water all our residents drink?"

He said it is unfair to saddle taxpayers with the costs of repairing roads that he said would be destroyed by large trucks because they "were never designed for such traffic flow."

"How can the Environmental Protection Agency be wrong in fostering policies that place these sometimes toxic facilities in more remote and rural areas, rather than in active communities?" Curley wrote.

The freeholders had been scheduled to consider an amendment to the county's solid waste management plan last week at their meeting that would have added the proposed Howell facility, in essence approving the plan, but that was pulled from the agenda a few days before the meeting.

It was not immediately clear when the freeholders might consider the issue. When they do, however, Curley's position will be clear.

"We must demand transparency in our government," Curley said. "Over ten years ago, I successfully fought for Red Bank residents in keeping a waste station out of their community. I pledge to do the same for residents of Howell . . . and for the greater good and betterment of Monmouth County."

Image via Google Maps