Residents Of Apartment Buildings Express Concerns
NJ Media Finally Reports On Sinkhole Risks From 600 Old Mines
Academic Expert Says No One Is Working On Investigating Problems
DEP Created Many “Solid Waste Sinkhole” Problems Across The State, But Abdicates And Shifts Responsibility To Local Government
Still No Coverage Of the Karst/Limestone Issue And New Development
Exactly as I predicted, even more shoes have dropped in the original Interstate 80 sinkhole closure. The problem began with I-80, but the scope of problems being reported now includes risks to nearby occupied buildings and from 600 abandoned mines.
But the issues and risks are even broader than that. More shoes will drop.
But finally, NJ media have begun to ask tough questions, yet several key issues still have gone unreported.
Fourteen (14) years ago, we used DEP maps and data to warn about risks from abandoned mines.
NJ Spotlight reported on that today:
Twelve (12) years ago, we warned about sinkhole risks to critical infrastructure, based on a sinkhole formed during the construction of the Tennessee Gas pipeline.
No reporting on any of that.
Last year, we warned about risks from the privatization of building inspections, including sinkhole risks from the disposal of solid waste at construction sites:
NJ’s construction industry has a long history of corruption and dangerous practices – from shoddy construction, to sinkholes caused by burying construction debris on site, to illegal disposal of toxic fill (AKA “dirty dirt”), to building schools on hazardous waste sites – to name just a notorious few off the top of my head.
No reporting on any of that.
More recently, we also warned of sinkhole risks to occupied dwellings, from karst geology, and from solid waste disposal – including an emphasis on the lack of DEP regulation and policy:
Let’s not wait for an apartment building to collapse into a sinkhole before conducting that analysis.
Today, NJ Spotlight finally reported on some of that, see:
Excellent reporting.
I got a kick out of the “no comment” from the Mayor – who served on the planning board when the building was built 14 years ago – because he was so willing to talk in prior reporting about his “lunch box” program to support local business in a prior Spotlight story. It sure sounds like the Mayor ducted and contacted the State Department of Community Affairs. DCA regulations rely on private inspectors, exactly what we warned about last year! (see link above).
And the engineering Reports quoted only partially assess the risk. The focus on the engineering analysis seems limited to structural elements of the building, but the subsurface conditions are what matters! A structurally sound building can fall into a sinkhole!
But I was more disturbed by the comments of Rutgers Professor Gates (@ time 3:50):
There are some geophysical techniques that you could be using to figure out where the mines are …. but [no one] is doing that right now.
Wow. No one is working on the problem. And the sinkhole risk is broader than just mines: it includes karst/limestone geology and solid waste disposal.
… this is only the beginning, as the shoes continue to drop on the last 40 years of attack on government planning and regulation and disinvestment in public infrastructure.
There’s a very big story here. The dots must be connected.
Curiously, that same day (March 6), the DEP NJ Geological survey updated its website with a new feature on sinkholes with this cryptic CYA:
Do you have a sinkhole on your property? Learn about the types of sinkholes found in New Jersey, sinkhole and remediation, and resources that NJGWS provides. Find guidance for solid waste sinkholes in our sinkhole guidance document.
Say what?
The largest interstate highway in the State has collapsed due to a sinkhole months before, and after doing nothing for decades the DEP posts an innocent sounding question like:
Do you have a sinkhole on your property?
Oh, but it gets much worse.
If you hit the link and read the sinkhole guidance document,NJGS provides a troubling history that reveals that DEP created an unknown number of sinkholes across the state by deregulating disposal of construction and demolition debris and “clean fill” (AKA “dirty dirt”):
In 1986, in an effort to conserve limited remaining landfill capacity, the then New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) adopted regulations that permitted builders to deposit limited types and quantities of solid waste at construction sites. These regulations, which were set forth in the now amended N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.7(e), established certain limitations and restrictions including setbacks and buffer requirements that would minimize the potential for environmental impacts, including sinkhole problems. …
Another option that was more widely used for on-site burial during the 1980’s was the clean fill program. In order to maximize the recycling of certain demolition materials, which would otherwise end up in sanitary landfills, the Department allowed for the limited use of certain inert, uncontaminated, innocuous waste materials such as brick and concrete. This material would be used as “clean fill”, supplementing or replacing more common products such as earth or crushed stone, typically used at construction sites. …
The solid waste sinkhole problems that are reported to the Department generally are the result of the decomposition and settlement of improperly deposited waste materials and the subsequent subsidence of the ground surface.
DEP deregulation of solid waste disposal created unknown by statewide sinkhole and other serious risk and problems.
Who will ask DEP about this? DEP’s own document admits their negligence.
Now get this.
After DEP created a Statewide problem, the DEP provides no information to the public on the location or number of these actual and potential sinkhole sites, some of which may be hazardous waste sites due to the widespread practice of illegal disposal of “dirty dirt”. Some may also be causing toxic “vapor intrusion” into buildings or contaminating drinking water wells.
Perhaps worse, DEP admits even more deadly risks:
As evidenced by the April, 1993 tragedy in North Brunswick involving a seven year old boy, sinkholes can create dangerous conditions that are a direct threat to the safety of those living in the affected areas. The use of fencing or other suitable blockade should be used to prevent access to the area by children or other unsuspecting individuals.
So, what should a person do about sinkhole risks?
Don’t ask DEP – they’ve said you’re on your own and reliant on local government:
Contact the municipal engineer’s office. This office may be able to provide important historical information concerning the previous use of the property, any permits or approvals issued, and any oversight or inspections conducted over the years. Furthermore, this office may be able to provide the technical assistance necessary to determine the cause of the sinkhole; i.e., solid waste burial, underground stream, broken water main, etc. In addition, you may solicit their assistance with the preparation of remedial work activities. If this assistance is not available through your municipal engineer’s office, you may consider hiring a Civil Engineer or Geotechnical Consultant.
But the DEP actually not only allowed but promoted these disposal operations. The DEP issued approvals of them.
The DEP must have information on who is responsible for the disposal that causes a sinkhole to form, as well and the composition of the materials disposed and the locations of disposal areas prone to sinkholes.
This is not a local responsibility.
And someone needs to ask DEP if they still allow this to occur.
More to follow, as more shoes drop and the finger pointing and evasion by State officials at DCA and DEP begins.
