Moorestown Councilwoman's Letter to the Editor: ACO Shows History of Mistakes, Violations and Failures

To the Editor:

On Friday, July 1, 2016, the Moorestown Town Council convened to consider Resolution 136-2016 Authorizing Execution of an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) which it duly passed 4-0.

Based on the Findings of the ACO, for activity occurring prior to and throughout 2015, the NJDEP determined that “Moorestown has violated the Safe Drinking Water Act.” A review of the Findings includes: non-compliance with public notification on multiple contaminants in our water supply, failure to meet obligations contained within the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) we signed with the NJDEP, a reporting violation, and one the public is yet somewhat unfamiliar with – certifying inaccurate information on NJDEP applications.

To resolve the matter, the ACO sets forth a Compliance Schedule (corrective action) that includes, among other things, monthly progress reports, the continued closure of wells 7&9 (North Church St.) until approved treatment for TCP, TCE, and Gross Alpha has been installed, public notification for past violations, a revised water conservation ordinance, and disallowed any additional water main extension permits, until Moorestown has sufficient firm capacity. The ACO also included a $3,000 Penalty.

Reading this document has left me alarmed. Furthermore, based on comments by some of my council colleagues, I am concerned that my colleagues may not be acknowledging the seriousness of such a legal document. The ACO should not be minimized. We can debate all day long for as long as we want the ACO Findings but in the end, these Findings concern our public health and safety.

An ACO is issued only when a township is in non-compliance with the law. Let’s be clear, according to the NJDEP, Moorestown has violated the Safe Drinking Water Act. I consider it a violation of not only the law, but of the public trust as well.

A council colleague called the ACO “a path forward”, which it may be. However, let us not overlook the critical fact that it highlights a prior record riddled with mistakes, violations, and failure, at times, to serve our community.

I strongly disagree with one council member’s comment that we missed “one little thing here and there” and another member’s statement that the ACO is “codifying what we’re already doing anyway.”

I do not consider violating safe drinking water regulations “one little thing.” I also think it makes little sense to state that a corrective action, such as the ACO, is codifying what we’re already doing; this statement is irreconcilably false. If what we were doing during that time period was fine, we wouldn’t be signing an ACO today.

It’s time we hold ourselves accountable (signing the ACO is a step in that direction), stop finding others to blame for the situations in which we find ourselves, and discontinue the temptation to minimize our activity.

While the Findings outline in the ACO are concerning in and of themselves, I believe they underscore a larger issue: they pose a potential threat to not only the public health and safety but also the public’s trust in its leadership and governance.

To what risk do we subject our community when we neglect to honor our agreements? What value are we to residents if we fail to properly notify them about contaminants in our water as required by law? What kind of disservice are we doing our community when we certify inaccurate information on DEP applications?

I can’t imagine that the public’s trust has not, in some way, been compromised by this activity. While I was not a member of council during that period, my hope is that any breach is not irreparable.

There is a considerable amount of work ahead of this township and its council. Our community must have faith in our ability to do this work. Because leadership is fluid, my hope is that any breach in the public’s trust will not undermine its faith in the ability of this and future leadership to get the job done in a manner consistent with our values.

Lisa Petriello