Delays and Current Updates

As of 2010 the additional pump and treatment of contaminated groundwater on site has finally just begun construction. Several factors had contributed to the lengthy delay of the remediation since the issuance of the Record of Decision in 1986 to the start of work in 2010. The design for the pump and treat system was nearly completed when the ACMUA refused to accept the treated discharge from the system. The NJDEP then reevaluated the using of infiltration basins for the discharge of treated water in 1993, creating another delay in process. The NJDEP then studied infiltration basin size and the impacts for the discharging the treated groundwater and monitor its effects on the treatment system from 1997 to 1999. Ultimately the study found that the infiltration basins were not effective methods for receiving the discharge, and it was abandoned. However the treatment system monitoring proved effective in addressing the contaminants in the groundwater. In 1999 design for a remediation pilot plant was completed by NJDEP and in 2001, construction was completed and testing began on the treatment pilot plan, with testing completed in mid-2002. The NJDEP began design work on the final remediation system in 2003, with the first phase of the design completed in 2005 and final completion of remediation design in 2010 (EPA, 2010).

In addition to the lengthy design period and hesitancy of where to discharge the treated water, other obstacles contributed to the delay implementation of the remediation efforts at the site. The change in leadership impacted how the project was implemented. As previously noted, many scenarios and methods were considered, and as new administrations were in control at NJDEP, their preferences for the site would often lead to modifications in the remediation design, contributing to the delays. As well as challenges in Trenton with NJDEP, discharging the treated water in the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s (ACUA) system was not a simple solution either. The discharge of flows would be incurred onto a municipality’s flow rate, and determining if Pleasantville or Egg Harbor Township would claim the additional flows was one obstacle to overcome, in addition to meeting contaminant level requirements for tying into the ACUA’s system. Additionally, public apathy began to set in over time, while this was once a prominent issue that received national attention, the relocation of the ACMUA well field and city water service installation for local residents removed the immediate threats to public health, reducing the public’s concern over the following 15 years (Dovey, 2010).

In 2009 $16.3 million in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funds had been granted to the Price’s Pit remediation process, as final design for the system was nearing completion and work set to finally begin. In late 2010 work began at the site including installation of piping discharge the water treated on site into the ACUA’s system (EPA, 2010). Construction on the system is expected to take two years. Once completed the system is expected to treat approximately 500,000 gallons per day and pump into the ACUA system. The treatment system will take 20 years to remediate the site, at which point the various wells could potentially be reclaimed by the ACMUA (Harper, 2010).