Introduction

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was created in response to the outburst of contaminated sites in the United States.  With a growing environmental conscious, the act was enacted by congress to cleanup inactive and abandoned hazardous sites.  The Brick Township Landfill located in Brick, New Jersey is a Superfund Site and was added to the National Priorities List in December 1982.  Over the past 30 years many decisions have been made in favor of the site in order to redeem it back to a useable condition. However, the process is taking much longer than expected with the remediation process still occurring.

CERCLA

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Superfund was enacted on December 11, 1980.  The purpose of CERCLA is to address problems associated with abandoned hazardous waste sites.  The major provisions of CERCLA include the following: “established prohibitions and requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites, provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites and established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified,”(CERCLA overview, 2011).  CERCLA is used today to find and cleanup sites which pose a threat to the community, such as the Brick Township Landfill site in Brick, New Jersey. 

Moreover, CERCLA was created in response to a growing environmental contamination problem in the United States.  The original Act of CERCLA is much less complex in 1980 than it has come to today.  In 1986 CERCLA was first amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) which added many provisions to the original act and clarified the unclear sections.  CERCLA was amended again in 2002 with the addition of the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act which helped to fix the issue of the innocent party and to help to make clear who is responsible for the affected site.  All of the provisions made to CERCLA were done to help the process of cleanup of inactive hazardous waste sites and the correct distribution of cleanup costs among the parties who dumped the waste at these sites (Sullivan, 2009). 

In addition, the most important feature of CERCLA is the Hazardous Substance Superfund which was used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in cleaning up hazardous waste sites.  The Superfund was created by the taxes that were imposed upon the petroleum and chemical industries, the environmental tax on corporations and general tax revenue contributed to the Superfund.  The Superfund is used by the EPA to pay for cleanup and enforcement costs and certain natural resource damages and claims of private parties.  Private parties are paid through the Superfund when the EPA approves the cleanups they have performed or when they are unable to receive payment from the facility owner or operator.  However, the Superfund may not be used to finance the remediation of federal facilities (Sullivan, 2009). 

Furthermore, a very important part of CERCLA’s response procedures is the National Priorities List (NPL).  The NPL is part of the National Contingency Plan and is updated annually. CERCLA requires that the EPA formulates a list each year using specific criteria for determining priority sites among the various releases or threatened releases throughout the nation.  The criteria used are based on public health, welfare, and the environment and taking into account factors such as the extent of the population at risk, the hazard potential of the facility’s hazardous substances, the potential for contamination of drinking water supplies, and the threat to ambient air.  Using these criteria, the EPA scores and ranks sites for possible placement on the NPL (Sullivan, 2009).

Site History

The Brick Township Landfill was in operation for more than 30 years accepting sewage, septage, solids, bulk liquids, and many other types of wastes.  The site is located in the Herbertsville section of Brick Township, New Jersey between the Garden State Parkway and Sally Ike Road.  The site ceased operations in May of 1979 and in 1981 the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) performed a site inspection to assess the condition of the inactive site.  The site was historically operated as McCormick’s Dump, French’s Landfill, and Brick Township Landfill. During this inspection, approximately 150 55-gallon drums were observed, several of them overturned and emptied onto the landfill surface. While all of the drums were not labeled, examples of drum labeling includes engine oil, lubricants, automatic transmission fluid, and anti-freeze.  The NJDEP directed Brick Township to clean up the spills and later, as part of an Administrative Consent Order, to sample and properly dispose of these above-ground drums.   Currently the site is not in business and has not been for over 30 years.  Brick Township Landfill remains on the NPL with remediation still going on (Brick township landfill, 2008).

Time Line

Late 1940s to 10 Jan 1968 -- landfill operated by John McCormick

March 1969 to 3 Dec 1973 -- landfill operated by Robert French

3 Dec 1973 – Township of Brick purchased landfill from Robert French with the ultimate goal of closing it down.

Dec 1973 to April 1979 --- landfill operated by Township of Brick

April 1979 --- Last wastes accepted at French’s Landfill

Dec 1982 --- Landfill proposed for inclusion on Federal National Priorities List (NPL) also known as “Superfund.”

Sept 1983 – Landfill officially placed on NPL / Superfund but was never eligible for Federal clean-up funds.

Dec 1986 to Jan 1992 -- Under the direction of NJDEP, Ebasco Services performed a series of remediation studies on the landfill. One of these studies was a magnetic survey to locate buried drums. No buried drums were located.

Nov 1992 – DEP announced $10 million closure plan for the landfill which includes an impermeable cap and methane gas ventingsystem.

Jan 1993 -- Township engineers and officials questioned DEP’s rationale for the requirement of an impermeable cap and methane gas venting system.

Oct 1994 --- After many months of discussions between NJDEP, other State officials and Township officials, NJDEP Commissioner Robert Shinn informed the Township that an impermeable cap and methane gas venting system will not be needed for the landfill. Remediation plan calls for monitored naturalattenuation.

Sept 1999 --- After several rounds of groundwater testing discovered groundwater contamination had spread offsite, Township imposes a ban on the use of private irrigation wells within one mile of the landfill. This ban is later reduced to ½ mile after subsequent testing determines the extent of offsite contamination.

April 2000 --- Dredge materials from Greenbriar Lake deposited at landfill for erosion control. Subsequently similar materials were deposited there from Lake Riviera and several local lagoons.

Summer 2000 --- Township converted private irrigation well owners over to municipal water supply to replace their now-closed wells.

Summer 2001 --- Township sealed approximately 270 contaminated wells located within the well ban area.

Late May 2003 -- Dredge materials from Belmar (Shark River) deposited at Landfill for erosion control. Resident pposition halted this operation in mid-June 2003.

18 Aug 2003 -- Independent tests performed by the PMK Group Consulting and Environmental Engineers confirmed that the Belmar dredge materials deposited at the landfill in May met NJ DEP Residential Clean-up Standards.

31 January 2005 -- Under contract from the Township, ENVIRON International completes an updated Human Health Risk Assessment for the landfill. The study confirmed previous studies which indicated that the potential for exposure to contaminated groundwater was remote. A copy of this study is posted in the HHRA section of this website.

Chemicals of Concern

Furthermore, at the Brick Township Landfill site there are many chemicals of concern due to the dumping of residential and commercial garbage, construction debris, vegetative wastes, and sewage/septic wastes along with labeled and unlabeled 55-gallon drums.  Based on information found in documents from the NJDEP archive, between 1969 and 1972, “total septic wastes accepted at the facility were estimated to range between 31,000,000 gallons and 37,200,000 gallons and between 1975 and 1978 the annual sewage disposal was calculated to be 12 million gallons.  These types of activities led to the release of contaminants into the surrounding areas of the landfill.  Approximately 50 chemical compounds were detected in various matrices within and surrounding the Brick Township Landfill.  The compounds found were grouped into six classes: pesticides, inorganics (metals), base neutrals, chlorinated organics, brominated organics, and organic solvents”(Birdsall engineering, Inc., 2008) .

“Seven pesticides (alpha, beta, and gamma-BHC, chlordane, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide and alpha-endosulfan) primarily found within the septic sludge pits or monitoring wells sampled during the period ending in 1985.  Occurrence of pesticides was sporadic, however the highest concentrations were detected in monitoring wells in November 1980 in the southeastern quadrant of the landfill, nearby Sally Ike Road.  Inorganic contaminants were found intermittently, within sludge pits, on-site monitoring wells, or off-site monitoring wells.  Heavy metals were detected within on- and off-site monitoring wells, the highest concentrations of constituents occurred toward the southeast quadrant of the site, and the off-site area immediately adjacent to Sally Ike Road.  Phthalate esters and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, i.e., base neutrals, were found within and adjacent to the Landfill during this period.  Very high phthalate concentrations, 31-100 ppm, were present within the septic sludge pits in December 1981, but were non-detect in subsequent samples.  Phthalates detects within on-site monitoring wells were sporadic as well.  Highest concentrations occurred in the southeastern-most monitoring wells.  Three subclasses of chlorinated organic compounds were present in the various matrices within and surrounding the site.  Concentrations within samples collected during the 1978-1985 period varied, but were predominately identified in wells located in the southeastern portion of the Landfill.  Bromoform was found in two off-site wells, immediately adjacent to the landfill near Sally Ike Road.  No other occurrences are reported for this period.  Three non-halogenated organic solvents (ethylbenzene, toluene, and benzene) were detected in the various matrices within and/or around the Landfill.  Toluene was identified in septic sludge pits and non-landfill monitoring wells in 1980.  Benzene and ethylbenzene occurred predominately near the southeastern quadrant of the landfill, along Sally Ike Road, indicating the landfill as the potential source of these compounds. ”(Birdsall engineering, Inc., 2008).

Moreover, the Phase I site investigation provided a preliminary assessment of the degree of environmental contamination resulting from the Brick Township Landfill.  The activities conducted in Phase I included geophysical and soil gas surveys, geologic and geohydrologic  (groundwater) characterizations, tank sampling, leachate sampling, waste characterization/test pit, and ambient air monitoring.  The key findings demonstrate how the pollutants are travelling from the inflicted site (Birdsall engineering, inc.,2008). 

The key findings of the report show that a silt layer found below the landfill site may be a barrier that is letting further contamination from the landfill occur.  There was evidence found that the groundwater in the southeastern portion of the landfill is being contaminated and the contamination is limited to several volatile organic compounds and landfill leachate constituents.  A landfill leachate plume also appeared to be migrating from the landfill with the groundwater.  The results of the Phase I site investigation indicated that the landfill is contributing to the degradation of the groundwater quality.  The pollutants of the landfill travel in multiple ways.  They are moving through the groundwater, surface water, and through the sands (Environ international corporation, 2005). 

National Priority Listing (NPL)

In December 1982 the Brick Township Landfill site was proposed to be added to the NPL and on September 8, 1983 the site was officially added.  The landfill was ranked number ten of all New Jersey sites on the USEPA NPL.  The site therefore came under the jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey Hazardous Sites Mitigation Administration (HSMA) rather than the Solid Waste Administration, which originally had jurisdiction over the area. Along with the landfill being added to the NPL, the Administrative Consent Order (ACO) was also issued by the NJDEP to Brick Township in July 1982.  The ACO required “the installation of an additional groundwater monitoring well near well B-8, downgradient of the landfill, the clean-up of the site including filling and venting the three septage pits, and the submission of a Closure Plan for the site by September 15, 1982,” (Birdsall engineering inc., 2008).  

Remedial Investigation / Feasability Study

A remedial investigation and feasibility study for the Brick Township Landfill was completed twice.  The first study was done with Ebasco Services Incorporated in April 1987.  The second report was completed by Birdsall Engineering, Inc.  During the remedial investigation information was collected to characterize the nature and extent of contamination at a site.  The information collected aids in the development of remedial alternatives to address potential threats identified during the investigation.  From the data collected from this investigation and the prior one done by Ebasco of the landfill and groundwater certain conclusions were made (Birdsall engineering, inc., 2008).   

Furthermore, the conclusions made by the remedial investigation found that the landfill is the source of contamination resulting the release of various contaminants into the subsurface and groundwater.  The groundwater contamination was limited to the water table aquifer and Cohansey Formation with contamination not impacting the underlying Kirkwood Formation as of yet.  The groundwater contamination plume has largely been delineated and only large volume irrigation wells are permitted to continue withdrawing water.  When the statistical analysis was done of the groundwater quality it showed that the contamination levels were decreasing for some but not all contaminants (Birdsall engineering inc., 2008).