Mill is closed for lack of business license Meanwhile, testing under way on 'black dust' collected at 14 homes BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer "Both testingprocedures will be paid for by the steel plant, and there will be no waiver from the steel plant or us." - Ronald Green Sayreville Environmental Commission SAYREVILLE - The borough shut down a slag-related operation at a local steel mill last week at a time when the mill is under scrutiny from neighbors for its "black dust" emissions. International Mill Service (IMS) Inc. ceased its operations on June 22, one day after receiving a letter from the borough ordering the shutdown, according to Sayreville Business Administrator Jeffry Bertrand. He said the company had been operating without a license since 2003. IMS, which rents property and receives materials from the 100-acre Gerdau Ameristeel plant, has been operating on the site since 2000, when it received borough Zoning Board approval to operate. The company produces aggregate, which Bertrand described as small pellets that are used for roadway bedding. "We are going to institute a process whereby, when a business does not renew its license to the Zoning Board, the code enforcement department will get a notice from the Clerk's Office saying that they have not renewed," Bertrand said. "They will then see if it is still operating." The borough is investigating allegations that the operation destroyed woodland areas, violated erosion controls and encroached on wetlands areas. It will compare old and current conditions on the site in its review, Bertrand said. In recent months, residents in the area have repeatedly complained about black dust being found on their properties. The Edison Wetlands Association, a local environmental group, hired Chapin Engineering to conduct tests on the material and reported that the dust is an iron-based compound with mercury, arsenic, zinc, lead and nickel content. Representatives of Gerdau Ameristeel have said that the company is implementing controls to reduce emissions and testing the dust material. Sayreville Environmental Commission Vice Chairman Ronald Green said the steel mill will fund two rounds of tests on residential properties on the same day and at the same 14 houses. "One test is going to be done by the borough using an independent lab approved by the DEP [state Department of Environmental Protection]," Green said. "The other test is going to be done by the steel plant by [a different] DEP-approved lab." Though the steel mill previously distributed waivers for residents to sign that would waive rights with regard to damages, Green said no such forms will be involved. "There will be no waivers whatsoever," he said. "Both testing procedures will be paid for by the steel plant, and there will be no waiver from the steel plant or us." Green said he is expecting the test results to arrive about two to three weeks after the tests are conducted. Meanwhile, the Environmental Commission will hold its next meeting July 9 at the Sayreville Senior Center, Pulaski Avenue and Main Street. The meetings are typically held at borough hall, but the senior center was chosen to accommodate the greater number of people expected to attend. Representatives from Gerdau Ameristeel are expected at the meeting, as well as officials from the Middlesex County Board of Health and Sayreville Borough Engineer David Samuel. Residents who observe problems in the area of the mill are asked to report them to the DEP at 1-877-WARN-DEP. Bertrand noted that the closure of IMS is related strictly to the lack of a business license, and not the allegations regarding dust coming from the steel mill site. "I can't tell you that we have any scientific evidence that the dust is caused by this [operation], but we don't have any evidence that it is not," Bertrand said. "If it disappears, then there is a nonscientific connection."