Source: http://www.shorenewstoday.com, August 5, 2016
By: Andrew Parent
An environmental consulting firm recently informed residents and business owners of an environmental cleanup taking place at the former Exxon gas station on Ninth Street in Ocean City.
Synergy Environmental Inc., a Cherry Hill company overseeing the process for lot owner 903 Bay Ave Ocean City, LLC, distributed the letter informing residents that steps are being taken to investigate and remediate contamination of “petroleum-related constituents” underneath the site. The letter suggests that the state Department of Environmental Protection has investigated and monitored the site due to the contamination since 1989.
The notice is dated July 20.
“The success of these efforts is being monitored by taking periodic samples and sending information to the appropriate parties about the progress of this work,” including the state Department of Environmental Protection, the letter stated.
According to Larry Hajna, a DEP spokesperson, the property was listed by the DEP in 1996 as a “classified exemption area,” which are sites with documented contamination that will naturally diminish over time.
While Hajna is not sure of the property’s history with contamination, his best guess is that the site was one of a large number of operating gas stations that had a gas tank leak underground.
His best guess, he said, is that any faulty tanks and contaminated soil would have been removed many years ago, but that some levels of contamination remain in groundwater that runs underneath the property.
According to the Synergy letter, results from DEP investigations have found that four contaminants found in the groundwater there – benzene, methyl tert butly ether (MTBE), tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA) and TICs – exceed DEP standards.
“There was a timeframe in late ‘80s and early ‘90s when a lot of those older gas stations were spring leaks left and right because they weren’t maintained,” Hajna said. Back then, gas stations didn’t have the leak detection systems used today, he added.
“Back in that timeframe there was a lot of testing done on those gas stations and those properties. The DEP ordered the tanks pulled. If somebody removed the tanks, they were required to remove soil as well.”
The letter, sent on behalf of property owner 903 Bay Ave Ocean City, LLC, stated that “the proposed remedy for this property is to monitor the natural decrease in groundwater concentrations through periodic sampling.”
While the ground there is contaminated and likely has been for a long time, the letter states that the current contamination poses no health threat to residents or business owners nearby.
“We hope the work we are doing will progress smoothly and, in the end, restore the property as a valuable asset to the neighborhood,” the letter stated. “In the meantime, we appreciate your concerns and your patience and pledge to conduct our work efficiently and as responsible members of the community.”
According to a fact sheet enclosed with the notice, the DEP requires companies to periodically inform the public about ongoing environmental work.
Colleen Hansen, a senior environmental engineer at Synergy, said Friday, Aug. 5 that she couldn’t speculate how long it will take to further inspect the property and ultimately remove the contaminants.
Keller Williams Realty was reportedly negotiating to buy the property and build a new office building there.
Eric Booth, an agent at the company, said that outside of recent media inquiries, he had not been made aware of Synergy’s letter about the contamination. After asking how the letter has recently been circulated, he ended the brief conversation and did not return a follow-up inquiry.
According to the notice, the former Exxon station had operated on the property from “at least” the 1960s until closing.
Gas pumps and the old canopy there were recently demolished and removed from the site, but the old building there remains.
BP and Getty stations were also shuttered in recent years on the north side of Ninth Street, close to the foot of the Route 52 Causeway.
The old BP station was recently demolished after City Council approved a $475,000 bond ordinance to buy the site and turn it into open green space with a parking lot.
City public information officer Doug Bergen said the city is still waiting on the results of an environmental inspection conducted by the owner of the former BP station, SAE NJ Realty Co. of Pennsauken.
He said the owner of the property has already removed the station’s old underground gas tanks.
The city is also negotiating to buy the adjacent Getty station from owner Trinetra Realty Holdings. As far as the city knows, both the BP and Getty stations have a clean environmental history, he said.
Bergen added that the city is focusing on acquiring the Getty property for now, but may eventually negotiate for the Bud’s Outboard Marine property closest to the bridge on that block on Ninth Street.
If the city buys one or both of those properties, it would look to expand on the green space and parking area planned for the BP lot.