1995 ESD/Construction Completion/Cleanup Completion

In 1995 an Explanation of Significant Differences was created to allow for public commentary on the changes to the RD/RA (EPA 1998).  The ESD indicated that the new plan would save the project $2 million by negating the need to create a well for treatment and by utilizing the treated water for municipal uses rather than re-injecting the water back into the groundwater supply (EPA 1998).  No changes were ever suggested for the treatment of the contaminated soils at Reich Farm and soil remediation was completed by May of 1995, although the volume of contaminated soils was more than seven times larger than originally estimated (EPA 1998). 

The groundwater treatment system completed construction in 1997 and by 1998 a Preliminary Close-Out Report had already been submitted (EPA 1998).  Four activated carbon units were added to the treatment system in 1997 as a measure to remove compounds that had been more recently identified (EPA 2003).  In June of 1999 an additional containment well was constructed in order to further protect unimpacted wells in the Parkway well field (EPA 2003).  This was because one year earlier in 1998, another Explanation of Significant Differences was released that indicated that two of six wells within the Parkway well field that had been being used for groundwater treatment were determined to still have low levels of contamination (EPA 1998).  The ESD included a recommendation from the NJDEP that these two wells be excluded from use as public water supply unless it became absolutely necessary down the road (EPA 1998).  These same contaminants have later been linked to a high incidence of childhood cancer among residents whom received drinking water from the Parkway well fields (UCC 2003).