Feds deny application for solid waste transfer station
Sludge Busters and elected officials praise decision
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
Freehold Township now has a nickname - "The Little Engine That Could," according to Annemarie Howley. And the little engine that could, did.

What it did was stop a plan that sought to establish a solid waste transfer station on Route 33 about a quarter-mile west of Kozloski Road. Ashland Railroad sought to use a federal transportation law that deals with railroads to establish the facility in front of the former Brockway glass factory (now the Iron Mountain record storage facility).

Residents and officials had opposed the plan in recent months, and on Aug. 16 it was announced that the federal Surface Transportation Board had rejected the application

The chairman of that board, Charles Nottingham, delivered the news personally to officials in a meeting at the Freehold Township municipal complex.

Joining elected officials at the meeting were Howley and two of her fellow Sludge Busters, Laurie Zikos and Maureen McCann, all township residents. Lauren Gener, also of the Sludge Busters, could not attend the meeting.

Howley said when she heard the news that the application for a notice of exemption for Ashland Railroad to build a solid waste transfer station on Route 33 had been denied, she was "moved to tears."

"I couldn't believe it," she said, her voice laced with emotion.

The Sludge Busters had firmly opposed the railroad's plan to build a solid waste transfer station on 10 acres of a 50-acre parcel in front of Iron Mountain.

The property was originally owned by Ralph Clayton and Sons and later was sold to Grems-Kirk Railway. According to Larry Zaayenga, supervising planner with the Monmouth County Planning Board Solid Waste Recycling Planning Section, 10 acres, which later became 47 acres, of that property was then leased to Ashland Railroad.

One of the key concerns expressed by people who objected to the plan was that it did not list in detail exactly what type of materials would be moved through the site or how materials would be moved.

That vagueness was the eventual demise of the application's viability.

Nottingham said Ashland Railroad had failed to respond to questions asked by the Surface Transportation Board and provided "only vague answers to address the specific questions posed and the concerns raised by the opposing parties.

"They have failed to adequately describe the shippers they will serve, the operations they will conduct, the arrangements they will have with rail carriers, or the environmental impacts of the proposed activities. Indeed they have failed to file any rebuttal to the arguments made in the replies filed by the opposing parties, even though the procedural schedule specifically provided for a rebuttal to be filed.

"Their unresponsiveness to the requests for additional information leaves us with insufficient basis upon which to authorize the proposed activities. Accordingly, we will reject the notice of exemption," Nottingham said.

Nottingham said Ashland Railroad has the right to appeal its case or to resubmit the application.

The fight to keep the solid waste transfer station out of Freehold Township was spurred along by the Sludge Busters who immediately enlisted the help of local lawmakers and state officials. Howley said she first took her concerns to Township Administrator Thomas Antus and told him, "The shirts are coming out again, Tom."

The shirts she referred to were an updated version of the ones worn by the Sludge Busters in a similar fight in 1994 while fighting a sludge to methanol plant that, coincidentally, was proposed to be constructed on the same site as the solid waste transfer station 13 years later.

The four women also enlisted the help of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, Congressman Christopher Smith, Congressman Frank Pallone, state Sen. Ellen Karcher and state Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck. Also on board were Monmouth County freeholders Lillian Burry and Barbara McMorrow, Freehold Township Mayor Dorothy Avallone, Freehold Borough Mayor Michael Wilson and Freehold Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina.

Howley said the women became a part of the process that saw layers of lawmaking officials set the wheels of government into motion. She said it is a story of how four women were kept in the loop of big government and of how people really can make a difference.

"We changed something," she said, still in awe of what had actually happened.

When Howley said "we" she meant every person who helped in the fight, including those who signed more than 3,000 letters sent to state legislators.

She praised Smith, the New Jersey congressman whose district includes Freehold Township, as the person "who saved us" and said that from the beginning it was Smith who took the lead in opposing the solid waste transfer station and helped the Sludge Busters by offering his staff and his resources to aid them.

"This was not about politics," Howley said. "This was about how great our government is. I know people say it doesn't work, but it does, and Congressman Smith taught us how to use our government . He never made us feel unimportant and always made us a part of everything."

Smith set up a meeting in Washington, D.C., in July so the objectors could meet with attorneys representing the Surface Transportation Board and air their concerns.

Smith, who is a co-sponsor of the Clean Railroad Bill of 2007 with Pallone, made this fight his fight as well.

"When our forefathers drafted the Constitution, Congressman Smith is who they had in mind," Howley said. "This could only happen in this country."

She said representatives from all levels of government and from different political parties, as well as four mothers, came together to bring about a positive outcome in this case.

"Look at me, I'm a mom with four kids and I am sharing, along with state, county and local officials, a victory on a federal level. This is what being an American means. It's the way its supposed to be," Howley said.

Howley said that after the meeting with Nottingham she had a chance to share her thoughts with him and that he "listened to and heard."

"We're very happy about this decision," she said, "but the federal law that allows this still has to change. At the very least, states must be notified if there is an application for a notice of exemption."

Smith told Greater Media Newspapers he was pleased with the board's decision to deny the Ashland Railroad application.

"We always believed we would win," Smith said, "but to hear it like this (at town hall in Freehold Township), was an added bonus."

Smith praised Nottingham for his "indepth look" at the situation and his attention to the environmental concerns that surrounded this issue.

"The chairman went the extra mile on this to see that justice was done," Smith said.

He said it was unprecedented that the commissioner of a decision-making body came to a site at the request of a congressman.

Calling the denial of the application a "big win," Smith said, "We are in a better place if the railroad decides to appeal or resubmit. The application already got the attention of the board and this would now need a full-blown environmental review, showing any (potential) danger to air, and ground water contamination. We have the assurance going forward that we are not going to see a waste transfer station there. Democracy works if you are honest, transparent and aggressive."

Key to the process was Zaayenga, who provided much of the research used by Smith and the other legislators to see exactly what was at stake.

"We are forever in his debt," Howley said of Zaayenga. "He made me, a former Food Network junkie, learn to understand the workings of the Department of Environmental Protection and become aware of wetlands and water tributaries and many other environmental concerns. He helped me to become credible."

Burry, who referred to the day of the meeting, Aug. 16, as an "incredible" day, said Zaayenga was the first person to bring the issue to the floor. She thanked him for his knowledge, awareness and expertise.

Antus said the application denial was wonderful.

"It's a perfect example of multiple levels of government working together for a common goal. We are lucky to have Chris Smith," Antus said. "He spearheaded this project and pulled everything together."

Wilson applauded Smith for his determination in dealing with the issue.

"Moreover, I am very grateful to have a partner in Monmouth County, Larry Zaayenga, whose professionalism and high degree of competence served as a guiding light for our residents here in Freehold Borough," the mayor said.

Freehold Borough Council President Kevin Kane said it was "great to see local, county, state and federal officials come together as one group. This not only transcended political jurisdictions, but political parties as well."

Beck said she was glad the federal Surface Transportation Board was so "responsive and took into consideration the very serious environmental risks inherent in an operation of this kind of facility without subjection to our state's environmental regulations. Certainly, the residents of Freehold can breathe a sigh of relief."

Beck said she will "continue to work with federal representatives to stop any company looking to exploit this federal exemption."

Karcher said she was grateful for the decision that denied the solid waste transfer station.

"Trash transfer sites pose serious health and safety risks for the surrounding community and lower property values in the area. Pollution from construction debris can contaminate local ground water and soil, and fumes from decomposing trash combined with higher truck emissions coming to and from the site can devastate air quality in the neighborhood. It was the combined opposition from the community which I believe had the greatest impact on the federal government's decision to step in. I was glad to work with my friends and neighbors to preserve the quality of life in Freehold Township."