Local News - Fire funds cleanup of Mullica tire dump
By ROB SPAHR, Staff Writer | Posted: Monday, January 18, 2010 | 1 comment
MULLICA TOWNSHIP - A dangerous tire dump off Columbia Road will soon be cleaned up thanks to liens recovered from another infamous tire dump.
In December 2008, the township acquired a massive, tire-ridden property on Columbia Road - between Elwood and Nesco roads - through tax foreclosure. The 99-acre tract, which also is littered with other kinds of debris, sits in the Makepeace Lake Conservation Area, making it an environmental and health risk.....Continue Reading
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"The property is 99 acres in size, but it's not like there is 99 acres of tires. The tires are basically strewn all over," said Patrick Dillon, the environmental health coordinator for Atlantic County. "And tires do catch fire, and if that happens it can lead to the degradation of the water quality of surface water."
An Atlantic County Public Health officer said tires allowed to just sit on properties can collect water where mosquitoes can breed, which can lead to the spread of disease.
The Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders has been awarded $267,000 worth of grant funding through the state Department of Environmental Protection that will be used to clean up the property. Of that sum, $217,000 was recovered as the result of a similar tire removal project that took place in the township nearly a decade ago.
According to Tony Pagano, assistant counsel for the county, the money was recovered from a lien on the former Perona Brothers junkyard on Route 30 in the township's Elwood section.
In December 1986, the millions of tires in that junkyard caught fire and burned for days before they could be extinguished - an effort that reportedly took an estimated 140 firefighters and $373,000. The burning of the tires released several toxins into the air, including naphthalene and sulfur oxide.
The cost to clean up from the fire was in the millions and a lien was soon placed on the property, which Pagano said was eventually paid by a third party who was interested in building a trash-transfer station on the property. That plan eventually fell through, he said, but the money will used to clean up the Columbia Road site in order to prevent similar problems there in the future.
"With Makepeace Lake right there, it is the last place that you would want a tire dump," Pagano said.
Atlantic County Administrator Gerald DelRosso called the cleanup effort a collaborative win made possible by the township, county and DEP all working together.
"Two very, very poorly kept properties in the same area are now going to be cleaned as a result of these efforts," DelRosso said. "I know the executive (Dennis Levinson) is very happy to be able to do this."
Newly appointed Mullica Township Mayor Michael St. Amour expressed gratitude to the county and state for helping rid the community of an eyesore.
"Being in a rural community that is 50-square miles, it is a lot harder to keep an eye on everything that goes on when it comes to people illegally dumping trash in secluded areas. It is an epidemic for rural communities," St. Amour said. "We have been more diligent about (fighting it) over the past year and a half, which I think has helped cut down on it some. But without the county's help, we would never have been able to get this property cleaned."
Contact Robert Spahr: 609-272-7283 RSpahr@pressofac.com
Posted in Atlantic on Monday, January 18, 2010 2:20 am
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It is not necessarily the opinion of The Elwood Vol Fire Company or it's members.
