Incident referred for civil, regulatory action as well as criminal investigation
PETERSBURG — “I want to share some information that may be alarming to you all,” DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette told a packed house during the Upper Township Committee meeting Oct. 28.
“The DEP’s initial findings have revealed that some of the initial samples of Bayaire Road were adulterated. Someone with access to the initial samples is believed to have knowingly tampered with those samples. That tampering incident resulted in the high mercury readings.”
Follow-up testing by the Department of Environmental Protection has found not a single well exceeds the allowable level of mercury.
“DEP conducted potable well sampling on October 17 at homes on Bayaire Road. The samples were analyzed by the New Jersey Department of Health’s laboratory and preliminary results show levels of mercury ranging from non-detect to 0.066 parts per billion (ppb); below the standard of 2 ppb,” read a statement Oct. 25 from the DEP to the township administration.
Private testing at homes along Bayaire Road by Cape Environmental Laboratory of Cape May Court House showed concentrations as high as 14,000 parts per billion. The maximum for safe use is 2 ppb.
The contamination came to light Sept. 9 when the Cape May County Department of Health notified the township and residents that it would be testing their wells after a neighbor reported a test revealed elevated levels of the heavy metal in well water.
New Jersey-American Water Co. provides service to a lot of homes in the area but those on Bayaire, part of Holly Berry Lane, Allendale Road, Lake Corson Lane and Homestead Court rely solely on well water.
“Initial sampling results on Bayaire showed high levels of mercury, dangerously high levels, which is very unusual for us to identify,” LaTourette said.
He said the follow-up testing by the DEP raised a lot of questions.
“The DEP sampling results came back showing non-detect levels at many residences, including those that previously showed high levels of mercury, and when that disparity between initial samples and DEP samples came to light, the DEP immediately launched an investigation,” LaTourette said. “Our investigation is ongoing. We will provide more information to you all as soon as we have any verifiable.”
“I’m flabbergasted, shocked at this information that it is a prosecutable offense,” Mayor Jay Newman said, noting the DEP notified the township Oct. 22 of possible false positive tests.
He asked if the tampering was done to the samples or whether the wells had been intentionally contaminated.
“I share your shock about this tampering incident. I have never seen anything like it in my career. It is beyond the pale, to say the least,” LaTourette said, adding that the samples were tampered with, not the wells.
Township officials took multiple steps to inform the public of the incident, notifying the residents during both Township Committee meetings in September and issuing several statements on the topic.
“While the Township Committee is very pleased with these preliminary results, we will continue to advocate for a conclusion to the event,” Newman stated in a post on the township website. “We will also support the DEP in finding the root cause of the original testing data.”
Township Administrator Gary DeMarzo said the response to the incident involved eight agencies and dozens of people
“The township was the frontline to the public, an advocate for our residents, and we support the lead agency of the DEP,” DeMarzo said. “The public must remember the township must rely on facts, not hearsay, rumors and fractions of information. Contrary to claims on social media by uninformed parties, the township remained consistent in its response and release of verifiable information.”
LaTourette said the DEP “is working to ensure confirmatory sampling of any residential well affected by the tampering incident so that residents can have confidence in the status and safety of their potable drinking well water.”
“The actions that led us here are shameful, deeply, deeply shameful. To knowingly and purposefully tamper with samples of people’s drinking water, frightening this community, prompting government to waste finite resources reserved to help people affected by pollution is downright inexcusable and those involved in this shameful incident will be held accountable for their actions, you have my word on that,” LaTourette said.
Gewn Zervas, director of the Division of Remediation Management, said the DEP would provide two rounds of data on Bayaire Road and that those who relocated will be covered financially until results are found to be acceptable. Those who did not relocate will get free water until that time.
Zervas said some results from Cape Environmental showed levels of PFOA and PFOS that exceed standards.
“If confirmed, the DEP will pay for installation of treatment systems to address the contamination and pay for bottled water until treatment is in place,” she said.
Newman said some people went as far as to have a point-of-entry treatment system installed and asked if that cost would be reimbursed.
“Where a cost has been incurred that the Spill Fund can legally reimburse, it will do so,” LaTourette said. “As we refer this matter for criminal prosecution, we will ask that the costs be taken into account.”
Committeeman Curtis Corson said someone must be held accountable.
“I truly hope that these people will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, because what they have done to our people, our township and our community is criminal,” he said. “People were scared to death.”
“We will continue to do our job and we do not take kindly to acts like this,” LaTourette said.
Brittany McCreesh of Homestead Court asked if there was a possibility of getting public water service.
LaTourette said the DEP does not determine whether a public water system should be extended.
“Our role is limited to when pollution is identified, we provide support from the Spill Fund where there is a known contaminant issue,” he said. “We have no power to order a water system to extend in any direction.”
LaTourette said the lab is cooperating in the investigation and the incident has been referred for criminal prosecution.
“Our goal is to ensure that the residents affected by this incident can have faith in a confirmatory sample that we take,” LaTourette said.
“There are a lot of people angry,” Bayaire Road resident Jessica Gurdgiel said after the meeting.
“This is the craziest thing I have heard in a while,” husband Josh Gurdgiel added.
“I feel somewhat relieved; I wouldn’t say 100 percent. I would like to know more from the DEP about results and the research they are conducting,” McCreesh said. “I will feel more secure when our well is tested in November. For now I am still a little unsure.”
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
