From the The Press of Atlantic City, 1/18/2010, Rob Spahr, Staff Writer
A dangerous tire dump off Columbia Road will soon be cleaned up thanks to liens recovered from another infamous tire dump.
In December 2008, the township acquired a massive, tire-ridden property on Columbia Road - between Elwood and Nesco roads - through tax foreclosure. The 99-acre tract, which also is littered with other kinds of debris, sits in the Makepeace Lake Conservation Area, making it an environmental and health risk.
"The property is 99 acres in size, but it's not like there is 99 acres of tires. The tires are basically strewn all over," said Patrick Dillon, the environmental health coordinator for Atlantic County. "And tires do catch fire, and if that happens it can lead to the degradation of the water quality of surface water."
An Atlantic County Public Health officer said tires allowed to just sit on properties can collect water where mosquitoes can breed, which can lead to the spread of disease.
The Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders has been awarded $267,000 worth of grant funding through the state Department of Environmental Protection that will be used to clean up the property. Of that sum, $217,000 was recovered as the result of a similar tire removal project that took place in the township nearly a decade ago.
According to Tony Pagano, assistant counsel for the county, the money was recovered from a lien on the former Perona Brothers junkyard on Route 30 in the township's Elwood section.
In December 1986, the millions of tires in that junkyard caught fire and burned for days before they could be extinguished - an effort that reportedly took an estimated 140 firefighters and $373,000. The burning of the tires released several toxins into the air, including naphthalene and sulfur oxide.
The cost to clean up from the fire was in the millions and a lien was soon placed on the property, which Pagano said was eventually paid by a third party who was interested in building a trash-transfer station on the property. That plan eventually fell through, he said, but the money will used to clean up the Columbia Road site in order to prevent similar problems there in the future.
"With Makepeace Lake right there, it is the last place that you would want a tire dump," Pagano said.
Atlantic County Administrator Gerald DelRosso called the cleanup effort a collaborative win made possible by the township, county and DEP all working together.
"Two very, very poorly kept properties in the same area are now going to be cleaned Levinson) is very happy to be able to do this."
Newly appointed Mullica Township Mayor Michael St. Amour expressed gratitude to the county and state for helping rid the community of an eyesore.
"Being in a rural community that is 50-square miles, it is a lot harder to keep an eye on everything that goes on when it comes to people illegally dumping trash in secluded areas. It is an epidemic for rural communities," St. Amour said. "We have been more diligent about (fighting it) over the past year and a half, which I think has helped cut down on it some. But without the county's help, we would never have been able to get this property cleaned."
Monday, January 18, 2010
Fire funds cleanup Mullica tire dump
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4 comments:
Waszen paid the $217,000 lien plus we're getting an additional $50,000. Can someone explain how this will affect us in the future?
Is this free money to the town or will we have to repay the $267,000 back to the DEP?
Will a lien be placed on the 99 acres which a possible buyer must pay before taking title?
I think the Republicans made a big mistake by not forclosing on Perona's 20 acre property on the pike before Waszen took over.
We would have owned the property and never would have had to go through all the garbage tranfer station and rezoning controversy. We still don't know what the future holds for that land under Waszen's ownership.
re 2:53 pm
The Republicans actually forgave $40,000 in back taxes for their crony Perona. All the rest of us had to make up the difference for the tax coffers. By the time Waszen took over, Perona was $33,000 delinquent again. Waszen came in with $33,000 cash and paid off the back taxes.
Back in 2004,Waszen was court ordered that the property be graded and grassed. Have you seen any grass? If he planted it, the lead and zinc contamination must have killed it.
The junkyard license for that property was abandoned in 2004. The property is in the village zone. Only commercial or light industry that serve the village residents primarily would be permitted.
I am so happy that Mullica was given this money to clean up the 99 acres. I am confident that the new leadership will do everything possible to prevent this type of pollution in the future.
As Mayor St Amour stated in the article,it is hard to keep an eye on 50 square miles especially in the secluded areas. Please be good citizens and report any dumping or polluting you see to the Twp., the police or even to the Gadfly. If we all work together,we will be able to stop the people that have no respect for our children or our environment.
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