Gillespie & Donnelly issue statement on water treatment plants

Moorestown Township Council Democratic candidates Nicole Gillespie and Brian Donnelly issued the following statement in response to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approval of plans to rebuild Moorestown’s Hartford Road and North Church Street water treatment plants:

“We once again thank the DEP for its continued diligence and collaboration in addressing our water contamination issues in Moorestown. We also thank the many citizen groups who for the past 5 years have tirelessly advocated Council to address these issues, and without whose constant vigilance this approval would not have been possible.

The approval announced on November 1, 2018 highlights the fact that 1,4-dioxane is an unsafe contaminant and carcinogen. Throughout our campaign, we have routinely and forcefully called for a permanent solution for filtering 1,4-dioxane from our drinking supply. Since the first reports of water contamination beginning in 2014, numerous attempts by Council to downplay the potential negative effects of these contaminants on our health have been well documented. This most recent DEP approval, and statements made by Council in conjunction with that approval, make clear that Council misled the public on the risks of 1,4-dioxane, and through inaction contributed to delays in protecting Moorestown residents from exposure to it in our drinking water.

Additionally, we reiterate our concerns with the lack of transparency on reported costs for rebuilding the Hartford Road and North Church plants. As we have pointed out previously, in 2016 preliminary estimates for these plants by our township engineering professionals, Alaimo Consulting Group, were approximately $7 million each. The most recent estimates have ballooned to almost $19 million and $12 million, without adequate justification or documentation. With deadlines for construction and completion looming, Council has provided residents and taxpayers no cohesive plan for how these plants will be built - or how we will pay for them. Through their borrow-and-spend approach, the current Republican-controlled Council has saddled us with nearly $60 million dollars in debt, to be increasing by $40 million over the next 5 years. We continue to pay excessive amounts to purchase water from NJ American Water (NJAW), which has already cost taxpayers almost $6 million above our contractual obligations thanks to the prolonged timelines upon which Council has been acting. Furthermore, we are now faced with an increase in rates from NJAW, real costs that Moorestown ratepayers will be forced to absorb until our plants are in production and we can renegotiate our NJAW contract.

Finally, we have repeatedly called on Council to take concrete steps to find and retain a firm who will help recover tens of millions of dollars in costs for Moorestown taxpayers (see our prior statements available at https://www.moorestownforward....). For over a year, this Council has failed to do so. The announcement underscores the urgency of aggressively pursuing polluters, to ensure that Moorestown taxpayers are not left on the hook for these enormous costs.

This approval highlights the urgent need for change in our leadership. From day one, our campaign has been based on fundamental principles of transparent government that listens to and works with all residents to solve our challenges; true financial responsibility and accountability to taxpayers; and working with our business community to grow our economy, including through adequate infrastructure. Moorestown residents and businesses deserve leaders who will credibly and proactively communicate with residents about their safety, who have the professional experience to develop a concrete plan for our water infrastructure that protects residents with a sense of urgency and doesn't lead to unsustainable debt, and who will work with experts to aggressively recover costs from polluters. Our promise is that, when elected, we will be those leaders for Moorestown.”