$9M water line benefits Chester, Washington Twp. residents

CHESTER TWP. – A $9 million water-line extension will provide safe drinking water to 73 homes and businesses in Chester and Washington townships, which have dealt with polluted groundwater from the Combed Fill South Landfill for more than three decades.

Thanks to the Parker Road extension, those homes and businesses will no longer need water treatment systems.

“This water line will permanently supply clean drinking water to homes and businesses that had previously gotten their water from groundwater threatened by the landfill contamination,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Director Walter Mugdan said. “The completion of the water line is the culmination of a partnership between the EPA, Chester and Washington townships and the Washington Township Municipal Utilities Authority.”

The 65-acre Combe Fill South Landfill, which sits in both Chester Township and Washington Township, was operational from the 1940s until 1981. Soil and groundwater beneath the site were contaminated by volatile organic compounds, which can have serious impacts on people’s health.

The Combe Fill Corp. bought the landfill in 1978 and operated the site in violation of New Jersey’s solid waste laws. The company went bankrupt in 1981, and the landfill was not properly closed.

About 170 people live within a half a mile of the landfill, and most use private wells as their source of drinking water, which were affected by the contamination.

The state Department of Environmental Protection began providing in-home water treatment systems to residents whose wells were impacted by the landfill contamination in the early 1990s.

The EPA added the site to the Superfund list of the most contaminated hazardous waste sites in 1983. The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for cleanups as opposed to taxpayers.

For the Combe Fill South Landfill, the EPA has recovered more than $50 million to fund ongoing work on the site, including the new $9 million water line extension.

Chester and Washington townships were among 20 defendants — including waste management companies and local and state governments — ordered in 2009 to pay to fix environmental damage at the landfill .

Chester Township Mayor Bill Cogger said he thought having a Superfund site in town was penalty enough without writing a check, and his township fought over payments before ultimately reaching a settlement.

“But for a $60,000 settlement,” Cogger said, “We got a $9 million water line and clean, clear water.”

Construction on the water line began in spring 2013 and was completed this summer. The project includes 15,000 linear feet of water line and 27 fire hydrants.

The original cleanup plan for the site included capping the landfill, installing a landfill gas collection system, pumping and treating the shallow groundwater beneath the site, and installing stormwater runoff controls.

The shallow groundwater continues to be treated on site, and now that the water line is in place, officials are looking into how the landfill is impacting deeper layers of groundwater.

Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco praised Cogger for fighting for his residents,and credited the municipalities, state DEP, and the EPA for working together.

“The most important responsibility of a municipality is to protect public health and safety,” Bucco said, “and the welfare of its residents.”

The new water line, which connects homes and businesses along Parker Road, School House Lane and a small portion of Route 24, will be operated by the Washington Township Municipal Utilities Authority.

Walter Cullen of the MUA called construction a win-win situation for all involved.

“This is a classic example of what will happen when common sense prevails,” Cullen said. “People can now sell their homes. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to buy a house with a (water treatment) system before. Residents are certainly much better off.”

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com