Legislators Await Fuel Spill Probe Results

As New Jersey Transit's clean-up contractor continues soaking up diesel fuel in Grenloch Lake and along Big Timber Creek in the wake of a Jan. 11-12 spill at its Washington Township bus garage, state legislators are vowing to make sure safeguards are in place to help assure another environmental disaster like it never occurs again.

"We're going to have to address that," Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney said while last week. "There has to be some kind of linkage–especially with technology today–that signals a main terminal somewhere, so people can get out there before it's too late."

A supervisor at NJ Transit's Washington Township bus garage discovered the source of the fuel spill sometime around 9 a.m. Jan. 12., as local firefighters searching the area for the source of a widely reported unusual odor descended on the transit system's Route 42 property.

By then, officials estimate roughly 26,000 gallons of diesel fuel—roughly the equivalent of what would be needed to fill 1 1/2 average-sized backyard swimming pools—had leaked from a damaged gasket between two 20,000-gallon underground storage tanks.

NJ Transit officials have said investigation revealed the on-site leak-detection system's alarm was triggered at 8:32 p.m. Jan. 11, but it was not recognized by anyone working at the garage that night before it automatically shut down.

The leak-detection system's functionality has since been addressed, most significantly by relocating the alarm to an area in the garage where it is more likely to be noticed by workers.

"It actually has to be disabled by a human being once it goes off," NJ Transit spokesman John Durso Jr. said Wednesday.

NJ Transit has also installed new monitoring systems in the Washington Township garage's fuel-valve boxes and added an automatic shut-off function to the fuel management system, Durso added.

"These are steps we've taken ahead of any investigation results," he said.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-4) is pleased by the progress NJ Transit's environmental clean-up contractor, Clean Venture Inc., of Elizabeth and Clayton, has made in the now three-week-old effort, and was encouraged to learn NJ Transit has taken steps to address system failures at the Washington Township garage.

Moriarty, like Sweeney, plans to use the Washington Township fuel spill's investigation results to determine whether legislative action is necessary.

Since he met with NJ Transit and state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials on Grenloch Lake the morning of Jan. 13, Moriarty said he has told NJ Transit officials to use the local spill as a "learning event to make sure something like this never happens again."

"It's a shame that an event like this had to happen to bring to light deficient practices at NJ Transit locations," he said. "I hope they move with all due speed to correct any deficiencies at any of their depots throughtout the state."

NJ Transit has made significant progress. As of Wednesday, a total of 9,200 gallons of diesel fuel, 654 tons of contaminated soil, and 31 tons of fuel-soaked absorbent materials and debris, have been recovered, Durso said.

Ongoing DEP analysis of private water wells in the area reportedly have been been negative for contamination.

"None showed impacts from the spill," Durso said.

Water sources for public companies New Jersey American Water and Aqua New Jersey have not been impacted, according to Mayor David Mayer.

A representative will be at the Washington Township bus garage, located at 6000 Route 42, Sewell, today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to discuss the spill. It will mark the final of 11 days since Jan. 23 that NJ Transit will have a respresentative at the garage.

A hotline specifically established in the wake of the Jan. 11-12 spill will remain open for residents who still have questions, concerns or issues, Durso said. The number is 800-626-7433.

"We are committed to being a good neighbor and we'll continue to keep the public appraised of progress being made in the ongoing cleanup," Durso said.

West Deptford Patch editor Bryan Littel contributed to this report.

Read Gloucester Township Patch's full coverage of the diesel fuel spill:

• Fuel Spill Contained; Several Animals Found Dead
• NJ Transit Boss on Fuel Spill: 'Our Work Has Only Begun'
• NJ Transit Officials in Town to Talk About Fuel Spill