NJ DEP Appeal May Be Only Hope for Woodlynne Ave. Resident

After a few weeks of inquiry at several levels of government, from borough administrators up to Gov. Chris Christie's office, Collingswood resident Christina Caruso is closer to some kind of resolution on the environmental issues that plague her Woodlynne Avenue property.

Closer, but not necessarily close.

Shortly after , Caruso obtained from the borough a copy of a two-year-old laboratory analysis conducted by Environmental Resolutions, Inc., of Mt. Laurel, that confirmed the presence of various toxins on her property.

Among them are the chemicals chlordane and arsenic, once commonly used in pesticides; benzoapyrene, a carcinogenic chemical present in diesel fuel exhaust; and lead, which causes permanent brain damage in developing children.

The Carusos have two young children, currently not allowed to play in their own backyard.

All these toxins were discovered in amounts that exceeded the residential soil remediation standards determined by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), according to a letter addressed to borough water superintendent John Meier that accompanied the results of the report.

Meier recollected the issue to some degree, but could not speak to any remediation efforts taken at the time these chemicals were discovered.

"It had to do with the south branch of Newton Creek flooding into their backyard and putting sediment back there; I believe that's kind of the way it went," he said.

Caruso says that the action taken at the time by the borough was to dump a quantity of dirt in her backyard to bury the affected areas, which, according to state regulations, can be an acceptable solution. However, because of the constant flooding in the area, the soil has since eroded, revealing other debris: sizeable lengths of twisted rebar, what appears to be a section of automotive tailpipe, and large rocks.

These appeared in addition to the steady flow of garbage deposited on Caruso's property on a semi-regular basis, depending upon the level of precipitation. Caruso brought some evidence of these to a one-on-one meeting last Thursday with Mayor Jim Maley and borough administrator Keith Hastings, where she said the officials promised her they would do everything they could to address her concerns.

"[Mayor Maley] said he's going to get to the bottom of it and he's going to get it fixed," Caruso said. "They're going to come up with a plan as to how often [my property] gets tested, and [Maley] says he wants to work with me in resolving the issues."

A problem bigger than the borough

"She's frustrated," said Maley. "We understand the frustration. It's an issue that's much bigger than us, and involves other jurisdictions that have much more money than we do. We're doing everything we can to reduce the impact."

According to Maley, the source of the wastewater flooding is the antiquated combined sewage system of Camden City, which manages sanitary and storm water in one system. During periods of heavy rain, the system is overloaded, and discharges into the surrounding lowlands and bodies of water--including the Delaware River, which feeds nearby Newton Creek.

Any pollutants in the system are flushed out--and legally, on the strength of a DEP permit, he says.

"My understanding is that to fix that is hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars," Maley said. "We're not going to be able to solve the overall flooding issue and we're not going to be able to solve the issue that the DEP has a permit that allows the city of Camden to discharge sewage from its pump station.

"What we can do–and what we're going to do–is try to improve the conditions in that neighborhood, and we continue to do that," he said.

The same factors were behind the demolition of the homes at Richey and Cattell Avenues, Maley said. Caruso, 27, said the problems at her property, where she also grew up, accelerated after the homes were demolished.

"We would have to send firemen over to rescue people out of their second-floor windows because they could not get out" during a summer storm, Maley recalled.

"It's been flooding in that area for 60 years," he added. "Our engineers are in contact with the engineers of Camden City and they do testing as part of their permit. What they do or they've done, I don't know the specifics of that."

Maley said that his administration will explore every avenue to correct the larger issue of the flooding, including whether something can be done to revoke or alter the wastewater permit under which he believes the flooding is allowed. Still, he says he isn't optimistic that any affordable solution will be quick in coming.

"You don't fix this problem with $10,000," he said. "This is flooding coming from Newton Creek, coming from the Delaware and compounded by the Camden City sewer system. Whatever step we do to reduce the impact will wash away."

If it comes to a fight with the DEP, Caruso says she is prepared to stand her ground, shaky though it may be. The email she received from Gov. Christie's office on the subject, however, didn't have her holding her breath.

"Thank you for your letter," it reads. "I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I have asked my Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin to review the information you sent to me and reply to you directly."

Caruso received word Friday afternoon that the DEP would assign a caseworker to look into her problems, but she is already emotionally preparing for the worst.