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WEST MILFORD BOE FUNDS 3-D MAP OF TOXIC ZONE

Record - 3/10/2017

WEST MILFORD - The Board of Education has approved a study to develop a three-dimensional model of the contamination plume created by leaky underground fuel tanks at the district's bus depot roughly two decades ago, board records show.

The map should better delineate the contamination zone for an eventual remediation plan at the Highlander Drive depot, said district representatives.

As it stands, the state Department of Environmental Protection is asking the district to continue a program to isolate and remove the threat to nearby wells within the next five years, records show. Contaminants discovered on site include naphthalene, which destroys red blood cells, and perchloroethene, a known carcinogen.

The pollution was first discovered in 1998 during the removal of a pair of diesel and gasoline tanks with a combined capacity of 16,000 gallons. The district had 334 tons of soil removed several years later.

To help determine what contamination remains, the site underwent two years of groundwater monitoring using perimeter wells starting in 2014. The program cost approximately $230,500, records show.

Last year the board agreed to spend another $13,400 on a probe to help determine the extent of the pollution.

"What we found from the last probe is that the size of the plume is actually smaller than we had initially anticipated," said Business Administrator Barbara Francisco.

The next study from LAN Associates of Midland Park, which will attempt to further define the plume, is due to cost the district $14,875.

Not all board members backed the expenditure. Trustee Glenn Huber said the board may be "throwing good money after bad instead of spending money to clean it up."

Trustee William Cytowicz voted to approve the study, saying it may help the district save money in the long run by improving the efficiency of the final remedy.

If the district continues to pursue the development of a program using microbes to convert the contaminants into benign substances, it may avoid having to fund a more expensive effort to pump and filter groundwater at the still active depot, he said.

"If we don't spend (the money) now, we will have to spend it later," Cytowicz said.

E-mail: zimmer@northjersey.com