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Locals take case against waste to nation's capital
Environmental study of Route 33 property could be next step
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
CLARE MARIE CELANO Annmarie Howley reviews materials in the ongoing fight against a waste transfer station.
Annmarie Howley is not giving up. Even though the deck seems to be stacked against her, even though the powers that be seem to have thwarted her efforts, she and her friends will press on.
Howley is a member of the Sludge Busters, a group of area residents who are committed to halting the establishment of an unregulated waste transfer station on Route 33 near Kozloski Road in Freehold Township. The Sludge Busters say that such a facility is a potential danger to residents and to the environment.
In order to stop such a facility from ending up on Route 33 in front of the Iron Mountain records storage facility (formerly the Brock-way Glass plant), a change in federal law may have to be made.
In a letter to the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, Lawrence Zaayenga, secretary of the Monmouth County Solid Waste Advisory Council, said the 50-acre property at the heart of the matter is owned by Grems-Kirk Railway, which purchased it from Ralph Clayton and Sons Inc. in August 2006 for $1. According to the letter, one of the principals of Grems-Kirk Railway is also an owner of Clayton Sand Company.
Clayton owns acreage on the other side of the rail line and has manufacturing facilities located directly on the main rail line approximately one-third of a mile from the proposed Ashland transloading facility, according to Zaayenga. Most of the property owned by Grems-Kirk is presently used as a sod farm. An inactive rail spur runs along the western and southwestern borders of the property, he said.
A 10-acre parcel of the 50-acre site has been leased to Ashland Railroad for the purpose of establishing a solid waste transfer station. Zaayenga said Grems-Kirk has now indicated it plans to lease 47 of the 50 acres to Ashland Railroad rather than the 10 acres originally identified.
Much to the chagrin of the Sludge Busters, as well as to state and local officials, members of the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a decision in June which refused to close the loophole in a federal law that prevents states from regulating solid waste facilities on rail line sites.
Local representatives met with Evelyn Kitay and Scott Zimmerman, attorneys representing the STB, in the office of Congressman Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) in Washington, D.C., last week to express their concerns. Although the local officials and residents were told they could not specifically speak about Freehold, they did have a chance to say their piece.
In attendance at the meeting were Freehold Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano, Freehold Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina, Howley, Laurie Zikos of the Sludge Busters, and Zaayenga.
Howley said she thought the meeting on Capital Hill went very well.
In a press release, Smith said, "Our message was clear. The federal agency charged with accessing, monitoring and approving transfer stations must be aware and able to incorporate the local concerns and objections. We want to make sure there are channels of communication for our people to provide data and information as the STB does its job."
Smith said he wanted assurance that he would be able to meet with the STB chairman and the head of the board's environmental division to further pursue aggressive oversight in the review process of pending cases before the board to ensure that the health and safety of the environment and nearby residents is not placed in jeopardy. That meeting may take place by the end of the month.
"We will continue to exhaust every avenue in this effort," Smith said, adding that a state government should be permitted to review environmental concerns that arise in their individual state.
Smith is the co-sponsor of HR-1248 which was introduced by Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) that aims to exclude solid waste facilities from the jurisdiction of the STB and return regulatory authority to the states.
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) have said they would pursue legislation to give states the power to regulate waste storage railway stations. They have introduced the Clean Railroads Act of 2007, a bill that seeks to close the loophole in federal law and allows states to regulate solid waste facilities equally whether or not they are on a rail line.
The senators' bill is being considered by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on which Lautenberg sits.
"I am deeply disappointed in the board's decision which puts the interest of the railroad companies ahead of the communities affected by rail waste. New Jersey needs to be able to clean up railroad waste sites that pose threats to the health and safety of our neighborhoods. This board made it clear that we must draft a new law to ensure safe and clean operations at rail waste sites," Lautenberg said.
Calling the board's refusal to grant states authority over these facilities "irresponsible," Menendez added, "Our delegation is continuing the fight to prohibit railroads from brazenly flouting environmental protections that keep our rivers clean, our air clean, and our families healthy. That is the purpose of our bill. We cannot afford to stand idly by."
Although the site of the possible Route 33 solid waste transfer station is not in Freehold Borough, that will not exempt the town from issues associated with its operation, as acknowledged by Freehold Borough Mayor Michael Wilson who said he has "serious concerns and grave reservations with a federal regulatory process that could potentially permit an industrial and hazardous use that eschews the local permitting regulatory process."
Wilson added that the impact of local control is based in the foundation that uses will be put in place that are not harmful to the citizenry.
"A regulatory board 200 miles away separated by many layers of bureaucracy is in a position to make a ruling that could be or could not be beneficial to a municipality," the mayor said.
Wilson thanked Smith for interceding on the borough's behalf and thanked "our friends in Freehold Township," as well.
Ammiano called the meeting in Washington, D.C., "very beneficial in increasing our understanding of the legal ramifications as we move forward." He thanked Smith for arranging the meeting.
Howley said she and Zikos were honored to be a part of Smith's meeting with the STB attorneys.
"It is refreshing to us and I am sure to all the citizens of the Freehold area that Congressman Smith has taken such a hands-on-approach to our problem with Ashland Railroad and their potential loosely regulated solid waste facility in our community," Howley said. "As always, when the health, safety and well-being of any or all citizens are being threatened, we can always count on Congressman Smith to step up."
She said she walked away from the meeting with "great hope" that the loophole in the federal law that appears to have led to the present situation will be closed.
Zaayenga said the applicant for these rail facilities should be required to provide more specific information on its proposed activities.
"In addition," he said, "public notice to the local community needs to be improved and there should be at least some minimal level of environmental scrutiny. Solid waste handling should not be allowed without additional state oversight."
Howley said the forces opposing the possible waste transfer station are now pushing for an environmental impact study of the Route 33 property, which is about a half-mile west of the Kozloski Road overpass.
Locals take case against waste to nation's capital
Environmental study of Route 33 property could be next step
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
CLARE MARIE CELANO Annmarie Howley reviews materials in the ongoing fight against a waste transfer station.
Annmarie Howley is not giving up. Even though the deck seems to be stacked against her, even though the powers that be seem to have thwarted her efforts, she and her friends will press on.
Howley is a member of the Sludge Busters, a group of area residents who are committed to halting the establishment of an unregulated waste transfer station on Route 33 near Kozloski Road in Freehold Township. The Sludge Busters say that such a facility is a potential danger to residents and to the environment.
In order to stop such a facility from ending up on Route 33 in front of the Iron Mountain records storage facility (formerly the Brock-way Glass plant), a change in federal law may have to be made.
In a letter to the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, Lawrence Zaayenga, secretary of the Monmouth County Solid Waste Advisory Council, said the 50-acre property at the heart of the matter is owned by Grems-Kirk Railway, which purchased it from Ralph Clayton and Sons Inc. in August 2006 for $1. According to the letter, one of the principals of Grems-Kirk Railway is also an owner of Clayton Sand Company.
Clayton owns acreage on the other side of the rail line and has manufacturing facilities located directly on the main rail line approximately one-third of a mile from the proposed Ashland transloading facility, according to Zaayenga. Most of the property owned by Grems-Kirk is presently used as a sod farm. An inactive rail spur runs along the western and southwestern borders of the property, he said.
A 10-acre parcel of the 50-acre site has been leased to Ashland Railroad for the purpose of establishing a solid waste transfer station. Zaayenga said Grems-Kirk has now indicated it plans to lease 47 of the 50 acres to Ashland Railroad rather than the 10 acres originally identified.
Much to the chagrin of the Sludge Busters, as well as to state and local officials, members of the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a decision in June which refused to close the loophole in a federal law that prevents states from regulating solid waste facilities on rail line sites.
Local representatives met with Evelyn Kitay and Scott Zimmerman, attorneys representing the STB, in the office of Congressman Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) in Washington, D.C., last week to express their concerns. Although the local officials and residents were told they could not specifically speak about Freehold, they did have a chance to say their piece.
In attendance at the meeting were Freehold Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano, Freehold Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina, Howley, Laurie Zikos of the Sludge Busters, and Zaayenga.
Howley said she thought the meeting on Capital Hill went very well.
In a press release, Smith said, "Our message was clear. The federal agency charged with accessing, monitoring and approving transfer stations must be aware and able to incorporate the local concerns and objections. We want to make sure there are channels of communication for our people to provide data and information as the STB does its job."
Smith said he wanted assurance that he would be able to meet with the STB chairman and the head of the board's environmental division to further pursue aggressive oversight in the review process of pending cases before the board to ensure that the health and safety of the environment and nearby residents is not placed in jeopardy. That meeting may take place by the end of the month.
"We will continue to exhaust every avenue in this effort," Smith said, adding that a state government should be permitted to review environmental concerns that arise in their individual state.
Smith is the co-sponsor of HR-1248 which was introduced by Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) that aims to exclude solid waste facilities from the jurisdiction of the STB and return regulatory authority to the states.
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) have said they would pursue legislation to give states the power to regulate waste storage railway stations. They have introduced the Clean Railroads Act of 2007, a bill that seeks to close the loophole in federal law and allows states to regulate solid waste facilities equally whether or not they are on a rail line.
The senators' bill is being considered by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on which Lautenberg sits.
"I am deeply disappointed in the board's decision which puts the interest of the railroad companies ahead of the communities affected by rail waste. New Jersey needs to be able to clean up railroad waste sites that pose threats to the health and safety of our neighborhoods. This board made it clear that we must draft a new law to ensure safe and clean operations at rail waste sites," Lautenberg said.
Calling the board's refusal to grant states authority over these facilities "irresponsible," Menendez added, "Our delegation is continuing the fight to prohibit railroads from brazenly flouting environmental protections that keep our rivers clean, our air clean, and our families healthy. That is the purpose of our bill. We cannot afford to stand idly by."
Although the site of the possible Route 33 solid waste transfer station is not in Freehold Borough, that will not exempt the town from issues associated with its operation, as acknowledged by Freehold Borough Mayor Michael Wilson who said he has "serious concerns and grave reservations with a federal regulatory process that could potentially permit an industrial and hazardous use that eschews the local permitting regulatory process."
Wilson added that the impact of local control is based in the foundation that uses will be put in place that are not harmful to the citizenry.
"A regulatory board 200 miles away separated by many layers of bureaucracy is in a position to make a ruling that could be or could not be beneficial to a municipality," the mayor said.
Wilson thanked Smith for interceding on the borough's behalf and thanked "our friends in Freehold Township," as well.
Ammiano called the meeting in Washington, D.C., "very beneficial in increasing our understanding of the legal ramifications as we move forward." He thanked Smith for arranging the meeting.
Howley said she and Zikos were honored to be a part of Smith's meeting with the STB attorneys.
"It is refreshing to us and I am sure to all the citizens of the Freehold area that Congressman Smith has taken such a hands-on-approach to our problem with Ashland Railroad and their potential loosely regulated solid waste facility in our community," Howley said. "As always, when the health, safety and well-being of any or all citizens are being threatened, we can always count on Congressman Smith to step up."
She said she walked away from the meeting with "great hope" that the loophole in the federal law that appears to have led to the present situation will be closed.
Zaayenga said the applicant for these rail facilities should be required to provide more specific information on its proposed activities.
"In addition," he said, "public notice to the local community needs to be improved and there should be at least some minimal level of environmental scrutiny. Solid waste handling should not be allowed without additional state oversight."
Howley said the forces opposing the possible waste transfer station are now pushing for an environmental impact study of the Route 33 property, which is about a half-mile west of the Kozloski Road overpass.