RETURN TO USE INITIATIVE 2014 Demonstration Project BRICK TOWNSHIP LANDFILL: Brick Township, New Jersey THE SITE: The 42-acre Brick Township Landfill Superfund site (the Site) in Ocean County, New Jersey began operating in 1971. It accepted many waste materials, including sewage, construction debris, and a variety of liquids stored in 55-gallon drums. A private owner operated the landfill until 1973 when Brick Township acquired the property. The Township continued operating the landfill until 1979. Following landfill closure, the Township covered the Site with soil. In 1980, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) identified a variety of contaminants in soil and ground water that resulted from landfill operations. About 58,000 people live within three miles of the Site and many residential and commercial properties used ground water as a potable water source. Initial response actions conducted by NJDEP included removing buried waste materials and covering the area with soil. EPA listed the Site on the Superfund program's National Priorities List in 1982. Under NJDEP oversight, Brick Township sampled soil, soil gas and ground water to assess the extent of contamination. Brick Township also instituted a Groundwater Use Restriction Area to prohibit the use of private wells, and NJDEP initiated a Classification Exemption Area which suspends aquifer usage for drinking water in a specific area. In September 2008, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) which selected the Site's remedy: installation of a NJDEP Solid Waste Landfill Cap with institutional controls and long-term monitoring of ground water and site conditions. HE OPPOR UNITY As EPA was developing the 2008 ROD, the Township began investigating potential uses for the Site. The State of New Jersey participates in a Solar Renewable Energy Certificates program that invests in renewable solar energy projects whiie simultaneously creating a market for buying and selling PICTURED: Completed installation of the geosynthetic landfill cap. (Source: EPA) POTENTIAL BARRIERS: Concern about constructing the solar array without compromising the landfill cap's structural integrity. SOLUTION: EPA, the Township and the developer worked together to ensure that remedial action pians incorporated future use considerations. PICTURED: Solar panels installed at the Brick Township Landfill Superfund site. (Source: EPA) BEFORE: Landfill site contaminated from years of waste disposal. AFTER: The Site now contains 28,000 soiar panels that will generate about 7.8 megawatt-hours of energy per year. SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Redevelopment Initiative November 2014 1 ------- certificates. Additionally, the State enacted a Solar Financing Model that requires increased production of energy from renewable sources. Following the State-initiated Solar Financing Model, the Township began investigating the possibility of reusing the Site for a renewable energy project that would bolster the municipality's revenue stream. POTENTIAL BARRIERS: Ultimately, ROD components must be fulfilled in order to protect human health and the environment. The Township faced the challenge of designing a reuse project without compromising remedial requirements and land use restrictions. Specifically, the Site's remedy included an impermeable landfill cap with a geosynthetic liner. Common construction techniques for solar panel installation, such as digging and trenching for electrical lines and support structures, could disturb the landfill cap. THE SOLUTION: The Township's Planning Board worked with EPA and NJDEP during the remedial design phase to determine how cleanup technologies could accommodate a solar panel project. EPA supported the Planning Board's efforts to determine how site-specific requirements outlined in the ROD could accommodate solar field development. The Township incorporated these requirements into a Redevelopment Plan and eventually into the site remedy's design. Design elements that accommodated solar panel field development included using blue stone for the cap's top layer rather than grass and trenching along the slope areas to allow buried cables to be placed above the impermeable cap. In addition, the developers designed landfill slopes to be relatively steep; this allowed for the construction of larger plateau areas for the solar field. In 2011, EPA approved the design for the landfill cap. Cap construction was effectively completed and the solar panels installed by 2013. By considering reuse early on in the cleanup process, the Township constructed remedial components in a way that both allowed for future use as a solar energy project and protected human health and the environment. Additionally, early coordination and communication between remedial crews, the Township, federal and state oversight agencies, and developers facilitated the project's timely completion. THE SITE NOW: Following landfill cap and remedial component construction, Standard Alternative, LLC, a solar development company, began installing 28,000 solar panels in June 2013. By December 2013, the developer had completed construction of the 6.5 megawatt solar array. The solar array became operational in 2014 and will generate about 7.8 megawatt-hours of energy per year. Standard Alternative, LLC will lease the site property and operate the solar array for 15 years, at which point the Township will take full ownership of the solar field. The Township will be able to purchase the energy at a discounted rate and will also generate income from leasing the property to the solar developer. The Township believes the solar array will provide it with about $13 million through energy savings and leasing fees over the course of 15 years. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Jonathan Gorin, Remedial Project Manager, at aorin.ionathan@epa.aov or (212) 637-4361; or Gloria Sosa, Region 2 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, at sosa.aloria@epa.gov or (212) 637-4283. &EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Redevelopment Initiative November 2014 2 ------- |