Pallone slams racetrack for creek pollution
DEP imposes $140K fine on NJSEA
BY JENNA O'DONNELL Staff Writer

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th District) had sharp criticism for Monmouth Park officials during a town meeting at the Oceanport track on Saturday.

Pollution of local waterways was not a major item on the agenda for the Aug. 23 meeting, but the recent discharge of wastewater and resulting $140,000 fine imposed on the track by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) brought out a number of frustrated residents, along with Pallone.

Mayor Michael Mahon gave the news to residents two days earlier during the Aug. 21 Borough Council meeting that the DEP had issued the fine to Monmouth Park due to the illegal discharge.

"I was able to talk to everybody that had some involvement," said Mahon, who talked to officials from the track, Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority (TRWRA) and the DEP.

"There seemed to be a commitment right up front to making sure that the source of the problem is found and that there is a renewed effort to make sure that it is not repeated," he said Tuesday.

According to officials, the discharge occurred during the weekend of Aug. 15 when a valve malfunction caused wastewater from the racetrack to overflow into the Branchport Creek, a tributary of the Shrewsbury River that runs between Oceanport and Long Branch.

This new fine follows last year's $35,000 fine of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (SEA), which the agency is currently appealing.

Pallone gave track officials what one attending resident described as a "verbal beating" when he addressed them on Saturday, calling them a "poster child for polluters in New Jersey."

"I am deeply concerned over the recent untreated wastewater that was emptied into Branchport Creek from Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport," Pallone said in a letter to officials last week. "This issue has consistently been brought to the attention of the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority and has yet to be satisfactorily resolved."

Pallone slammed the slow progress of the SEA's remediation efforts in his letter, stating that the agency's inability to implement a prevention plan contradicts its mission and commitment to New Jersey that residents "reap the entertainment and economic benefits from the authority facilities for generations."

"It is troubling that despite the length of time that has passed since these concerns were first brought to the attention of SEA, adequate environmental safety protections and a sufficient management plan for Monmouth Park's water runoff still are not in place," Pallone wrote. "In the past, sewage has drained into Branchport Creek originating from storm-water overflow. This recent event occurred during clear weather, calling into question how this could have happened."

Pallone called on the SEA to immediately come forth with a comprehensive wastewater management plan and to work with the DEP to ensure that necessary environmental compliance is met.

John Samerjan, a spokesman for the SEA, which runs the track, said Monday that the agency was committed to solving the issue, caused when one of the valves that sends the racetrack's wastewater to the water treatment facility malfunctioned.

"We're in the process of investigating exactly what happened with the valves in question the weekend of [Aug.] 15," he said.

Samerjan said that one thing the SEA had found out Monday was that the valve was in its proper position on Friday, July 15, and that it is properly functioning now.

"It was an apparent valve malfunction on the 16th and 17th [of August]," Samerjan said. He added that officials are investigating the cause of the error.

"What is important is continuing to work with DEP and local and regional authorities on getting a long-term solution in place," Samerjan said. "The entire focus is getting a solution in place."

Recent improvements made at Monmouth Park include new gutters and the removal of some of the impermeable asphalt on the grounds. However, improvements such as added gutters, better drainage infrastructure, and the creation of retention ponds still must be done.

A recent agreement reached between the SEA and the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority (TRWRA) in Monmouth Beach allows an additional 100,000 gallons of wastewater from the track to be sent to the authority on rainy and dry days. Runoff above the agreed-upon limit runs directly into the creek unfiltered.

According to Mahon, the reality of the situation is that when rainfall occurs, there is an inrush of flow to the TRWRA, which must be regulated. The use of retention ponds, which would store wastewater until it could be accepted by the TRWRA, would accomplish

this.

For Jennifer McDermott, a resident of Doreen Drive in Oceanport, the recent discharge was devastating in light of the hope inspired by recent improvements made by the SEA.

"This has made me think that nothing much has really changed," McDermott said last week. "I don't know if imposing a stiffer fine is going to change anything."

McDermott said that she had been optimistic due to the recent improvements, which had led her to believe that things were under control.

"It was huge progress, because Monmouth Park was admitting they were the polluters and coming up with solutions," she said. For McDermott, the polluted creek has led to a number of issues, including diminished property value for her home, for which she pays waterfront taxes for a waterfront that she is unable to use.

An added alarm came for residents during last week's fish kills in the river, which experts have told officials is due to a depletion of oxygen caused by algae, not from the fecal bacteria from track runoff.

"I've never seen this," Mahon said in response to residents' concerns last week. "But it is this one species of fish that has been affected. It is not a wholesale fish kill of all species that are in the Shrewsbury [River]. This only happened to this one particular species and they think that kind of tips it toward this one impact."

Councilwoman Ellyn Kahle said that she read an article about fish kills that attributed them to the way that we are treating the earth with chemicals and pesticides.

In spite of assurances that the fish kills are unrelated to runoff issues, residents on the creek continue to be anxious.

"It's affecting so many different parts of our lives," McDermott said. "We're hoping for clean water again."

McDermott said she was encouraged by Pallone's appearance at Saturday's meeting.

"It was phenomenal," she said on Sunday. "He asked them if they had offered anyone an apology for doing this."

Mahon said he was looking not to point fingers, but to get results in cleaning up Branchport Creek.

"It has been a long summer that has yielded few improvements and hasn't really met the goals that everybody wants to get to," he said Tuesday. "But it's progress just the same."

He added that the recent discharge is an added incentive to get the matter resolved.

"This is just one more reason that we have to dig in and get involved with this problem," Mahon said. "We have to make sure all parties are working toward an achievable goal and we have to start getting results."