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Hercules seeks to sell large portion of land
Board tables vote; wants more info on contamination
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE - Local officials tabled a major chemical company's application to subdivide more than 500 acres of property until more information can be provided about contamination on the site.
Hercules Inc., of Wilmington, Del., which is hoping to sell a large portion of its property off Cheesequake Road, is seeking Planning Board approval for a minor subdivision. The company wants to subdivide the property's 15 lots into two lots - Parcel A, which is 166 acres and is where the plant is located; and Parcel B, which consists of 376 acres, according to Surveyor FrankW. Blum, who testified for Hercules.
If approved, the subdivision would allow the company to sell the 376-acre portion, which is not in productive use.
Blum said the company has already removed three buildings that were in conflict with its plans to subdivide the land.
Thomas Hunsberger, director of financial services for Hercules, said the company began to dispose of excess properties it did not need roughly four years ago. While the company wants to sell a large portion of the site, it will continue to operate on the 166-acre portion of the property, he said.
Hunsberger said the company does not have a buyer for the land yet, but has had conversations with interested parties.
"We want to sell what we don't want to keep," he said.
Green Tree Chemical Technologies Inc. leased and operated on part of the land that the company wants to sell. Thomas Howard Strang, who handles environmental policy for Hercules, said this portion of the site has well-documented environmental issues, but that the company is working with state officials to determine cleanup measures. Strang said the cost of cleanup would be factored into the sale price of the land.
While the buyer of the property would have to agree to clean up the site to the standards of whatever it seeks to build there, Hercules has put up a $2 million bond to guarantee that the tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA) contamination plume is remediated, according to the company's environmental attorney, Rich Williams.
Planning Board member Daniel Volosin said he wanted Hercules to provide more information on which portions of the site are contaminated, what phase the company is in with cleanup, and when the cleanup would be completed. He added that he would like to see a map of the site's contamination, so that the information can be put into the public record.
Strang said they did not have the map at that time. He added that the contamination is public knowledge and the company is not attempting to hide anything. He said Hercules is keeping the portion of the site that is contaminated with TBA, since it needs to recharge the water in that area. The company is also keeping a landfill that it needs to maintain, he said.
Attorney and stateAssemblyman John Wisniewski, who represented Hercules, noted that Sayreville's ordinance does not require that the applicant submit environmental data for a minor subdivision application. Environmental issues are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Environmental Protection, he said.
Planning Board Attorney James P. Hoebich said it is important that the board know about the contamination before it approves the subdivision.
"I think it goes to the very crux of the reason for this hearing," Hoebich said.
Hunsberger noted that potential buyers of this property will have to conduct a full examination of the land, provide insurance and prove that they have the money to clean up the site.
Board Vice Chairman Thomas Tighe said the Hercules representatives present at the meeting should know the locations of the areas of concern.
"When NL [National Lead Industries] went through this process, they knew where their hotspots were," Tighe said, referring to the 427-acre site that is slated for redevelopment.
Wisniewski responded that an "incredible amount of due diligence" would be done on the site when the sale takes place.
"This will enhance the ability of the property to be cleaned," Wisniewski said.
Williams said the cost of cleanup would vary depending on what a buyer plans for the property, as residential development would require more cleanup than a warehouse, for example.
In response to a question on what percentage of the site is contaminated, Strang said the figure is nowhere near the 90 percent that one board member suggested, but he did not have an exact figure.
During the public portion of the meeting, allegations regarding a conflict of interest were directed atWisniewski, who is chairman of the local Democratic Party in Sayreville in addition to his assemblyman post. The accusation also came up when he represented a different applicant before the Zoning Board of Adjustment in March.
Former Sayreville Republican Organization Chairman Kenneth Olchaskey said Wisniewski should not be the attorney for Hercules.
"I can tell you as a citizen I have a big problem with this type of representation," Olchaskey said.
Though Hoebich said there was no conflict of interest in this case, Olchaskey said he thinks one exists ethically and morally.
Olchaskey characterized Hercules as a good corporate citizen, but expressed disappointment with the lack of detailed environmental information provided with this application.
"We should have somebody on our side," Olchaskey said. "The logical person is our assemblyman, but he is on the other side of the issue."
Wisniewski, noting that those who appear before the board are not an issue of the board's concern, said Hercules' representatives provided the board with information on the environmental status of the property in their testimony, despite the fact that environmental issues are not of concern in a minor subdivision application.
"There is nothing being hidden here," Wisniewski said.
After the public portion of the meeting, Volosin made a motion that the board hold off on its decision until Hercules provides maps delineating contamination on the site. The board agreed, voting unanimously. Hercules agreed to provide the requested maps and other environmental information, and the board is scheduled to meet again on the application May 7.
Planning Board Chairman Dr. John Misiewicz said later that Hercules should demonstrate how it is going to remediate the contaminated parts of the property. The map is necessary in order for the board to make a decision, he said.
"All of the attorneys I questioned basically said if you have environmental concerns over this, they should demonstrate how they will remediate [the property]," he said.
Misiewicz noted that the property is currently zoned for industrial use. Any zone change would have to be recommended by the Planning Board and approved by the Borough Council.
"I don't think that the recent tenure of my board would ever change that to residential," Misiewicz said.
On the conflict of interest allegations, Misiewicz said he agrees with Hoebich's determination that Wisniewski is not in conflict in this case.
Wisniewski told Greater Media Newspapers that Olchaskey was committing an act of political mischief when he made the accusation. He said the state Supreme Court, which regulates the conduct of attorneys, does not prohibit him from appearing in front of the Planning Board.
"It is well established that there is no conflict," Wisniewski said.
An impression was created at the meeting that Hercules was attempting to do something contrary to the rules, when in fact it submitted a complete application under the municipal ordinance for a minor subdivision, Wisniewski said.
"We met all of those requirements," Wisniewski said. "This is something beyond the scope of a normal process for minor subdivision, and we agreed to provide that information."
Hercules, he said, has conducted many cleanup efforts on the site, including landfill capping, which was completed in accordance with DEP regulations, and the restoration of the borough's well fields to their former condition, which is ongoing. He added that no matter how many times the property is sold, Hercules cannot escape liability for its cleanup.
"It is not as if Hercules is sitting back doing nothing on this," Wisniewski said.
"They are never going to escape liabil- ity," Wisniewski added.
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