New Howell Website Is Dedicated To Marl Road Chemical Cleanup

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.

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said the township will also include a link to the state DEP DataMiner function on the site "so that people can access historical documents relating to the site."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

• Secure the drums.
• Remove them.
• Work with the state to test soil and groundwater.
• Expand the study area to the back of the property.

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.