Release Date: 07/23/2015
Contact Information: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
(New York, N.Y.) Brick Township received the first-ever U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Excellence in Site Reuse Award today for its use of 24,000 solar panels at a Superfund Site.
The award was given to recognize Brick Township’s reuse of a former landfill site to create a solar panel array that supplies electricity to the township’s government buildings and community parks. The installation of solar panels began in June 2013 and the solar array became operational in 2014. It generates about 7,400 megawatt-hours of energy per year.
A solar development company, Standard Alternative, LLC, is currently operating the solar array and will continue to operate it until 2029. The township plans to take over ownership at that point. Brick Township estimates that the solar array will save the township about $13 million through discounted energy prices over the course of 15 years.
“Brick Township has succeeded in turning the environmental liability of a former Superfund site into a community asset,” said Deputy Regional Administrator Catherine McCabe, who presented the award today during a ceremony at 1060 Sally Ike Road in Brick Township. “Renewable energy is a key component of our work to combat climate change, and it’s great to see that a landfill that once only generated contamination now can provide Brick Township with clean energy.”
The 42-acre Brick Township Landfill in Ocean County, N.J. began operating in the1940s. It accepted many waste materials, including sewage, construction debris, and a variety of contaminated liquids. A private owner operated the landfill until 1973, when Brick Township acquired the property.
The township continued operating the landfill until its closure in 1979. The site was placed on the EPA’s Superfund National Priorities list in 1983. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection initially had the lead responsibility for the cleanup. The EPA took over the site in 2007, and the cleanup work at the site was completed in 2013.
The work at the site included placing a cap on the landfill to prevent rain water from seeping into the landfill and spreading contamination. In addition, there are restrictions placed on the property that prevent the underlying groundwater from being used as drinking water. The groundwater will continue to be monitored to ensure that the cap continues to function properly. While the cap was being designed, Brick Township worked to develop the plan to install solar panels on the landfill.
For more information on Region 2 sites in Reuse, visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/live/region2.html