Lack of information on dump is disturbing

Is it possible to fight a plan when you don't even know what the plan is? That's what area residents and elected officials are trying to do right now as they rally opposition to the possibility that some entity could try to establish a waste transfer station on a 10-acre property on Route 33 in Freehold Township, about a half-mile west of the Kozloski Road overpass.

The group that is rallying opposition to the possibility of an unregulated waste transfer station being established on Route 33 is known as the Sludge Busters. The group successfully opposed the construction of a sludge-to-methanol plant that was proposed on the same property in the 1990s.

Now the Sludge Busters have returned in an attempt to beat back the idea that a waste transfer station could be placed on Route 33. Some people believe the waste transfer station will become a dumping ground for construction materials and hazardous trash.

The Sludge Busters have our firm support and they should have the support of residents in Freehold Township, Freehold Borough and other western Monmouth County municipalities.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this situation is the lack of a formal proposal for what would occur at the site. An Ohio railroad company has applied for a notice of exemption under federal law that would apparently allow it - because the site is proximate to a rail line - to operate a waste transfer station.

There are many unanswered questions:

+ Is there a local connection in the form of a company that wants to see this happen? We believe there is, but that company is not answering phone calls from the News Transcript or from the Sludge Busters.

Now there's a way to gain the public's confidence.

+ What type of materials would be brought to a waste transfer station? Who will oversee what is dumped there? Is anyone in charge here?

+ How will the materials be brought to the site? By rail? By truck? How will the materials be removed from the site? By rail? By truck? Will the materials ever be removed from the site?

+ Is the presence of the rail line on or near the Route 33 property just a cover story being used by some firm or another to get garbage in there and leave it there?

+ What, if any, environmental impact could result from unknown materials being placed at this location?

Several of New Jersey's elected federal officials have introduced legislation in Congress in the hope of closing the loophole in federal law that permits unregulated waste transfer stations to be established under the guidelines of the Subsurface Transportation Act.

Is it reasonable to assume that legislation proposed by Democrats from New Jersey will ever find the support it needs to make it through Congress and gain the signature of a Republican president of the United States?

Perhaps not.

A better hope for keeping garbage out of Freehold Township may rest with the Sludge Busters, who are once again committed to protecting the environment in their hometown.