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Farmingdale residents got an update on an Environmental Protection Agency cleanup schedule for chemical-containing drums in Howell.

Patch Staff

|Updated Wed, Apr 5, 2023 at 9:43 pm ET

FARMINGDALE, NJ — A second community meeting Wednesday provided more information to the public about plans to secure hundreds of drums containing chemicals used at a former industrial site in neighboring Howell.

The former Compounders Inc. site at 15 Marl Road in Howell was found to be the sloppily kept home of 200 to 300 drums containing various chemicals and compounds used in making adhesives and glue.

On Feb. 9, a fire there brought the situation to light for Howell officials when firefighters had to put out a chemical blaze in some of the drums. The cause of that fire is currently under investigation by the state Attorney General's office.

Now, residents in Howell and Farmingdale - right on the border of the site - are concerned about the impact not only from the smoke from the fire but from the years the site was in operation, albeit as a permitted use.

There was an initial community meeting March 21. On Wednesday, a meeting was held at the Farmingdale Community Center because the site is right on the border of the borough.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Inaction by owners of the site about conditions there seems to have gone unaccounted for by the state Department of Environmental Protection, residents learned last night. But enforcement action is "imminent," a state representative at the meeting said, adding that she did not want to jeopardize the action with more comment.

But residents are hoping for fast action to remove the drums and clean and monitor the site for air and groundwater quality, speakers said at the meeting.

Howell Deputy Mayor Evelyn O'Donnell, who said she lives two miles from the site and has well water, said the EPA should not only work quickly to deal with the site but it should "be running" to clean it up.

And the federal Environmental Protection Agency now seems to be in a better position to begin the sprint - or the marathon, as may be necessary.

The next steps

Michael Mannino, the onsite coordinator for the project for the EPA, said at the meeting that just on Tuesday the agency acquired a site access agreement to allow it legally to be on the site and take control of the assessment and removal work there. The cleanup will not be left in the hands of the property owner, in other words.

On Wednesday, removal contractors did an initial "site walk" with the contractors, he said.

He said early next week the drums will start to be brought inside, out of the elements, to a warehouse on the site, all in preparation for the ultimate re-containerizing of the drums and their removal. The site is now fenced and has 24/7 manned security, he has said.

Perimeter and off-site air monitoring will be set up as part of this process, he said in a slide presentation. There will also be on-site containment in the form of a berm or a boom in case there should be any accidental release from a container while doing the work, the EPA information said.

"I'm on the site every day. It's the only site I'm assigned to," said Mannino, who lives in Monmouth County.

Monmouth County Commissioner Sue Kiley attended the meeting last night, and she too expressed urgency and support.

As Health and Human Services liaison for the Board of County Commissioners, she said she wants every town "to be healthy and happy." The county "will see this through," she said.

That's the least that residents said they expect.

Lots of questions, no easy answers

For example, the recent tornado that touched down Saturday in parts of the town made some residents feel there is a great urgency to not only get the drums indoors, but completely remove them from the site as soon as possible.

There were also questions about plans for testing air and water quality in the area.

Another slide indicated that the EPA and state DEP will conduct a potable well search in a 500-foot radius of the site. So far one potable drinking water well was located. Its water is being tested for volatile organic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, metals and extractable petroleum hydrocarbons, the EPA information said.

The information also indicated there is no immediate threat to the Manasquan River, the source of the Manasquan River Reservoir, four miles downstream.

While state and county health officials are being brought into the assessment of the site, the EPA has "minimal environmental data" to make "health-based determinations" at this time, the EPA information said.

One resident said she has an organic garden, and she is concerned about runoff and surface water impacts from the site - not only the groundwater.

Another woman said she met a person who worked at the site as a teenager who might have some historical information about the site. Mannino asked that speaker to provide the contact so he could follow up.

Howell Councilman Fred Gasior said that he, as a former state trooper, would like accountability for how the site was run and monitored since it opened in the late 1970s. The industrial operation went on until 2019 and then the stock of the company - the business - was sold in 2021, but not the property.

"I'm looking to point a finger," he said.

Another resident with a degree in environmental policy said her child seems to have a more persistent cough and she has noticed kids have had rashes since the fire. Her doctor told her "allergy season was early."

She asked that schools be kept fully in the loop of communication, too.

She also asked what chemicals are being monitored for air quality and was told by Mannino that there is a five-gas monitor of the type used at refineries and he said no VOC, or volatile organic chemicals, have been detected.

Howell has set up a website dedicated to updates on the project.

The site at https://www.twp.howell.nj.us/610/15-Marl-Road includes recent activities, emergency alerting, evacuation routes and additional information about the site. Video of meetings is available too.

To read more Patch news about the 15 Marl Road cleanup site, you can refer to the following stories:

Residents from Howell and Farmingdale tell officials they want more communication, faster cleanup of chemical drums at a Marl Road site.

Patch Staff

|Updated Wed, Mar 22, 2023 at 4:23 pm ET

HOWELL, NJ — Worry and frustration were in the voices of Howell and Farmingdale residents at a community meeting Tuesday night about the presence of hundreds of deteriorating drums containing chemicals from the former Compounders Inc. site in Howell.

The exposed and rusting drums at the seven-acre site on the border of Farmingdale at 15 Marl Road contain chemicals from an adhesive and asphalt manufacturing company in business for decades.

Their existence came to light recently after a drum fire on Feb. 9 exposed the conditions there. A federal official said yesterday the federal Department of Justice is investigating the cause of the fire.

And the federal Environmental Protection Agency is now on the site to oversee the removal of the drums. A workplan is being developed, the EPA official said, and will be shared with the public when finalized.

But the priority right now, according to Michael Mannino, onsite coordinator for the EPA, is to

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The site is now fenced and has 24/7 manned security.

"The site is safer now than in the last several years," he told residents.

But nearly everyone who spoke at the meeting remained uneasy or frustrated, and Mannino, who is a county resident himself, listened to everyone's full comments and acknowledged their frustration.

They asked why, for example, they were not informed immediately about the fire - and about the existence of the dented, sometimes leaking drums at the site for years.

The meeting was led by federal and state environmental officials and local emergency and land use officials who heard from several of those who nearly filled the Howell main meeting room.

Some background information about the site and an evacuation map are posted on the township website, and a dedicated website about Marl Road will be created, officials said. You can also read a past Patch story here.

The specter of possible health damage from the site was raised repeatedly by residents. Federal EPA officials said they don't have lab results as yet on the specifics of what the chemicals are.

But the EPA's Mannino said the drums will be "re-containerized" for removal and a berm will be constructed to prevent any runoff. He also said that electronic equipment is picking up no airborne chemicals during the cleanup.

But one Farmingdale resident who spoke at the meeting said he has developed puzzling medical issues -cysts on a kidney, which he now is concerned could be related to the presence of the chemicals at the site. He even said his pet cat is very ill, and is now worried that the pet somehow came in contact with chemicals.

Other residents also expressed general concern for the air and water safety, not only since the fire but previously.

The issue of safety and the possible need for evacuation also came up at the meeting.

An evacuation map was released by the Howell Office of Emergency Management to tell Farmingdale residents where to drive to in the event of any potential emergency.

But residents said they see too many gaps in how such a plan would be implemented. Click here to see the map on the township Facebook site and you can read a previous Patch story here.

Some asked about having drills for evacuation and parents were concerned about how their children in schools near the area might be evacuated or how they can pick their children up.

History of 15 Marl Road

Information presented at the meeting showed the site had a history of various incidents and that the state Department of Environmental Protection has been monitoring it since 2012, citing mainly reporting deficiencies, not storage deficiencies.

Compounders Inc. sold the stock at the site, but not the property, in 2021, the township land use official Matthew Howard said yesterday.

He presented slides that showed the manufacturing operation began in 1979, and a first fire was reported in 1982. In 2002 there was a report of overheated resins.

Now the company is considered the party responsible for the ultimate cleanup and will work with a licensed environmental cleanup company under the eye of state officials, as laid out in federal toxic cleanup laws, the officials said.

But the federal EPA is taking the lead onsite right now and will remain so until the drums are safely removed from the site, the chemicals are assessed and the scope of the problem is determined, said Mannino, the EPA onsite coordinator.

One Farmingdale resident presented information from a DEP website that showed the site had no violations except for inspection reporting and has been under DEP review since 2012.

He asked why there was no sampling data already on file.

"How does it go from okie-dokie" to such a serious concern, the resident asked.

Evacuation concerns

Regarding an evacuation plan, another Farmingdale resident said she worked in a school system for 20 years and they had drills and specific plans on where to go and how to be provided food and water in the event of an evacuation.

She asked that residents be given specifics for such a possibility.

The plan showed a half-mile and one-mile radius from the site, but "what about two miles" or more from the site, she asked.

"I don't feel safe right now," she said.

Howell informed the community on its Facebook site about three weeks ago that the EPA was on the site of the former Compounders Inc. to clean up 200 to 300 deteriorating 55-gallon drums there.

The Howell Office of Emergency Management has issued a map it previously prepared as a precaution showing streets in Farmingdale that are in an evacuation zone of the cleanup area.

Victor Cook, head of the Office of Emergency Management in the township, spoke to residents at the meeting and has said the town was being proactive in preparing the map and that Howell immediately notified county and state environmental offices of the drums, once they were discovered at the fire.

There are schools in the evacuation zone, including Farmingdale Elementary and Howell Middle School North and others, residents noted.

Parents at the meeting asked what they should do if their children are in school in the event of any emergency.

Cook said he will coordinate with school officials and Monmouth County to ensure adequate school buses could remove students and to discuss the schools' evacuation plans.

More communication sought

One Farmingdale resident said more direct communication is needed. A lot of older people live in the town and may not have internet access.

"There was not one letter, not one knock on a door," said another Farmingdale resident, who worked in the environmental field before retiring.

Cook, of the Howell OEM, urged everyone to sign up for township alerts on their cell phones.

An EPA community relations staffer at the meeting said she will work with residents on any communication needs.

The Borough of Farmingdale has been the most affected because the Marl Road site is the last parcel in Howell, right on the border of the borough. And Cook said he will be speaking with borough officials to coordinate more information.

The Farmingdale Mayor James Daly has said, in a previous Patch story, that while the borough is being informed, "To know the real level of concern, all of this requires proper classification and cataloging and then remediation."

HOWELL, NJ — Even though a chemical cleanup is underway at a former industrial site in Howell, the nearby borough of Farmingdale in many ways is more affected.

The former site of the Compounders Inc. business is right on the border of Farmingdale, at 15 Marl Road.

And as a precaution, Howell put out an evacuation map for the borough.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency will meet with the Howell and Farmingdale communities next Tuesday, March 21, to discuss the removal of chemical waste drums from the site.

The Farmingdale mayor says that, while he feels the federal agency is taking proper precautions in the cleanup, the site needs "proper classification" and study, he added.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last week, Howell published a map of potential evacuation routes the borough of Farmingdale should access in the event of any problem at the cleanup site.

The map was put out as a precaution and to provide greater preparation. There is no immediate threat, the township has said.

Farmingdale is the most affected because the Marl Road site is the last parcel in Howell, right on the border of the borough.

"I continue to stay in the loop but out of the way, allowing Howell OEM, the (Monmouth) County Hazmat, DEP and EPA to all do their jobs," said Farmingdale Mayor James A. Daly in a response to Patch on the cleanup.

He said the items seem to be in "small quantities on site."

"However, to know the real level of concern, all of this requires proper classification and cataloging and then remediation, which the EPA is on top of, and we are staying out of their way to let them resolve the issue," Daly said.

Howell informed the community two weeks ago that the EPA was on the site of the former Marl Road business to clean up hundreds of deteriorating 55-gallon drums containing chemicals.

The drums were discovered in February by Howell firefighters at the former industrial plant. Now federal environmental workers will be at the site for several weeks to manage their removal, the township said. See a previous Patch story on the cleanup here.

Compounders Inc. manufactured a number of chemical compounds, including glues, adhesives, and asphalt materials, the EPA said. The company closed in 2019.

Daly said the discovery of the material is an important reminder for municipalities to always have emergency plans in place for residents.

"What it did however do is bring to light, along with what's going on in Ohio right now, the fact that there is a need to be better prepared and have a plan in place that's never used - rather than nothing in place at the time of need," Daly said, referring to the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio that resulted in the release of toxins in the air and water.

The Howell Office of Emergency Management has issued a map it previously prepared as a precaution showing streets in Farmingdale that are in an evacuation zone of the cleanup area. Click here to see the map on the township Facebook site. The map that shows a half-mile radius and a one-mile radius of the cleanup area.

The cleanup site is the last parcel of land in the township before the Borough of Farmingdale, explained Michael Mannino, the site coordinator for the EPA - hence the evacuation plan for Farmingdale.

Mannino, who lives in Monmouth County, said adjacent to the cleanup site is a JCP&L operation and railroad tracks - all part of a mixed-use zone in Farmingdale.

Mannino said the evacuation plan for Farmingdale was developed by the township following the fire in early February.

"Howell Township wanted to have a plan in place to be prepared in the event of any subsequent incident at the site," he said.

Victor Cook, head of the OEM, said the town was being proactive in preparing the map and that Howell immediately notified county and state environmental offices of the drums, once they were discovered at the fire.

In general, Cook urged residents of the entire town to sign up for emergency alerts to keep informed of any issues that may arise. The township website has a link here to sign up for emergency alerts.

Mannino also said that EPA has posted a 24/7 security service at the property "to ensure no such incidents take place."

Mannino said the evacuation map was already prepared as part of township emergency planning once the drums were discovered. He said it was "shared publicly by the township as a matter of government transparency."

The EPA is currently working with the property owner to establish a fence around the area of concern, as well as establish a workplan to secure and remove the drums and containers from the property.

When EPA has a schedule of site work established, it will be shared with the township, Mannino said.

He said that EPA will be "establishing perimeter air monitoring during any work with the drums and containers to ensure that there is no off-site travel of materials during removal activities."

The community outreach meeting with the EPA will include several members of the EPA’s Region 2 Office who will be in attendance to give more information about the activity at the property, as well as to answer any questions from residents, the township said in a Facebook notice.

The meeting is March 21 at 6 p.m. at Howell's municipal building, main meeting room, 4567 Route 9, second floor, Howell, 07731.

The meeting will also be live streamed on YouTube, and a link will be posted on the Township website prior to the meeting, Howell township officials said.

"Despite some workers wearing protective equipment and clothing, this does not mean there is a risk to the public or surrounding residents," the township said.

The EPA said there will also be increased traffic in the area during the operations at the site.

HOWELL – Dozens of Howell and Farmingdale residents showed up at a meeting with fervent attempts to uncover details regarding the discovery of unknown toxic materials found at 15 Marl Road.

Compounders, Inc., owns the 7.7-acre newly fenced-off site located just south of the Farmingdale border adjacent to the railroad near the intersection of Preventorium Road and Railroad Avenue, and Marl Road.

The informational session hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included representatives from both the federal agency and members of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Local officials also did their best to provide answers as residents voiced their concerns and grievances.

Decades ago, the property was approved for compounding materials used to produce adhesives. The site was classified as an asphalt and tar manufacturer in 1979, which involved cooling liquid asphalt and tar and storing it in drums.

Other operations on the site have included wax and resin melting, as well as Xylene/Xytol and gum resin. Three separate fires have occurred on the property over four decades, with the most recent one on February 9 causing alarm.

“Howell firefighters dispatched to the site found materials were being burned and found an old metal silo in the back of the structure,” said Matt Howard, Howell’s Director of Community Development and Land Use. “There was a really strong chemical odor at the time, and 200-300 drums were observed on the site.”

According to Howard, the drums are in poor condition, with many not only bulging and leaking but also rusted and dented. Reports indicate that smaller containers were also present in addition to the 55 gallon drums. Some of the drums were open, and there was evidence of spills and solid waste on the site.

The standard protocol called for reports made to the Monmouth County Board of Health, which alerted the DEP of the potential gravity of the situation. The EPA subsequently took over as the lead agency.

Preliminary steps taken by the federal agency include arranging for 24-hour security service to avoid the possibility of someone tampering with the containers. In addition, repairs to breaches in the front fence are intended to keep out trespassers and further remove the risk of imminent danger.

With the site secured, the next step is to remove the deteriorating drums from the property. Compounders, Inc., the potentially responsible party, has the option to conduct the removal action themselves.

“They’ve been very cooperative, and they’re working with us to secure the fence at this time,” said Michael Mannino, On-Scene Coordinator for the EPA. “They are currently reviewing a couple of cost estimates for removal contractors to make sure that people who are doing the work are properly certified and trained to do such work.”

The EPA has not yet entered the assessment phase of the project that would identify what compounds were present on the site. While some of the drums are labeled, Mannino said the information was decades old and not necessarily reliable.

“We don’t want to make an assumption based on old information,” Mannino explained. “We’re going to conduct an assessment with a potentially responsible party, Compounders, Inc. And we’re going to collect lab samples submitted and analyze it so we know exactly what the chemicals are that we’re handling or disposing of and will be providing those through community updates.”

The entire remediation process also includes working with the DEP to identify threats of contamination in the soil and groundwater.

Public Fears

There was an overwhelming sense of desperation as some residents sought answers that would bring them peace of mind concerning their health and safety.

One woman said she’d moved to the area from Toms River and recalled the trauma of living near the Ciba-Geigy Superfund site. Another gentleman contemplated whether his evolving health issues were related to contamination on the property. He also suggested his feline companion’s illness might be due to the cat licking its paws if dangerous substances were airborne or on the ground.

Authorities did not have answers regarding whether the site’s contaminants were airborne or had impacted groundwater or the soil. These are subject to investigation and analysis.

Other residents questioned whether a deadline had been set for the removal of the drums from the property. The short answer is that there are none. Federal law requires allowing the potentially responsible party to do the work. Enforcement mechanisms are in place if they do not conduct the process safely or correctly, which would result in the EPA taking over the site.

Several individuals expressed disappointment that they did not get what they considered adequate notice of potentially hazardous conditions – beginning with the chemical fire itself.

“I’d like to know why we weren’t notified by a robocall of people in that area,” said Ramey Allen of Farmingdale. “And had to find out – by someone at the grocery store.”

Howard said the township set up a separate page on its website to disseminate information about the site and made announcements on both social media and local newspapers. Other residents reiterated their distress about the notification process.

“We should be going to our local news stations,” Elizabeth Biernacki of Farmingdale suggested. “We should be aware of where to contact even if the robocall said take precautions and follow the website. It’s just kind of common sense.”

Shereen Kandill, a Community Involvement Coordinator for the EPA, said that she was happy to listen to suggestions regarding the best methods of communication from the federal agency. She volunteered to knock on doors or show up at grocery stores to keep people informed.

Information regarding the site and continuing work can be found at response.epa.gov/CompoundersInc or on Howell’s webpage.

Evacuation Route Established

Although federal and local authorities do not believe there is a threat of imminent danger, an evacuation route has been established. Details can be found on the township’s website.

Victor Cook, Howell Emergency Management Director, stressed that the implementation of the evacuation plan was intended to be proactive to prepare residents in the event something did happen.

The one-mile radius around the contaminated site includes three public schools and two day care centers.

“We have been in touch with the schools,” reassured Cook. “They have a reunification plan in place for their schools. We also have places in the township where we are going to set up to reunify families and to check in if people need to leave their houses.”

Cook said that the township has also made arrangements with the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management to secure buses should an evacuation plan become necessary.

HOWELL, NJ — The township has set up a new website dedicated to information on a Marl Road chemical cleanup so residents can get updates about the project and sign up for alerts.

Howell and Farmingdale residents expressed concern at a recent community meeting about the cleanup at the former Compounders Inc. site, and dissatisfaction with information and communication was a common theme of comments.

The new website was promised as a way to provide more accessible information.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has been onsite at 15 Marl Road since Feb. 15 to re-containerize 200 to 300 drums containing waste from an adhesives and asphalt manufacturing operation. It will remove the drums for disposal. The state will then oversee the ultimate cleanup of the site. The conditions there were uncovered when Howell firefighters responded to a drum fire at the site on Feb. 9.

But right now, residents are concerned about the impact of the drums on groundwater and air quality, and many expressed the need for more direct contact, especially about any evacuation plans.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Howell Township website https://www.twp.howell.nj.us/610/15-Marl-Road includes recent activities, emergency alerting, evacuation routes and additional information about the site.

“We wanted to create a single source where people could find the most up-to-date information about 15 Marl Road," said Township Manager Joseph Clark.

"Our goal is to get information from the authorities in charge of the site out to the public as quickly as possible.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection stepped in soon after the fire, the township said at a recent Township Council meeting, taking the lead on the project.

Clark said the township will also include a link to the state DEP DataMiner function on the site "so that people can access historical documents relating to the site."

There is a link now listed to the DataMiner site on the township website, and by doing an "Advanced Search" visitors can narrow down results. You can see the site ID number and name there to help in the search.

He said that by "creating a single source of information for our residents, we hope that it will allow them to be fully informed."

Another important aspect of the new website is its spot to sign up for emergency alerts. You can click here to sign up for the alerts - and anyone can sign up. You do not have to be a Howell resident.

According to the site, people can enter multiple phone numbers, text numbers, or email addresses to receive emergency messages from township officials.

People can also add one or more street addresses to an account, which can be used for any location-based messages.

Compounders Inc. used to make adhesives and asphalt products, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's background on the site. The company operated for several decades, but stopped operation in 2019. The stock was sold in 2021, but not the property.

Residents who spoke at the separate community meeting Tuesday said they are worried about their health and about any future emergency that might take place at the site. And they want the materials at the site to be identified as quickly as possible and have the area tested for any spread of contamination.

Although the cleanup is in Howell, the site is right on the border of Farmingdale, the last parcel of land in Howell before Farmingdale. The township developed an evacuation plan for Farmingdale, but residents said at the March 21 meeting they felt the plan needed to be more complete and address the needs of children in schools or daycare in the area.

You can now see the evacuation plan on the township Marl Road website.

The EPA is developing a workplan for the site and will share that with the public as soon as it is approved.

But the priority right now, according to Michael Mannino, onsite coordinator for the EPA, is to:

The site is now fenced and has 24/7 manned security, he said.

Mannino said the drums will be "re-containerized" for removal and a berm will be constructed to prevent any runoff. He also said that electronic equipment is picking up no airborne chemicals during the cleanup.