During our negotiations with Flemington Borough to acquire the property, we discovered 2 additional waste oil tanks that were not removed as part of the original remediation on the property.
This turned into a complicated multi-year long process as the town did not want to expend the money to have these tanks removed and test for contamination.
Finally an agreement was reached where we would front the money to have samples taken from the area around the tanks to check for contamination. Unfortunately, our concerns were confirmed and we discovered evidence of leaks from both tanks. Fortunately, the leaks seemed to be fairly contained to the area surrounding the tanks.
After several more months of negotiations and meetings an agreement was reached where we would move forward with removing the tanks prior to purchasing the property. This agreement would reimburse us for our costs removing the tanks in the event that more significant contamination was discovered.
Not exactly sure what we were about to uncover, we began the process of removing the tanks and the contaminated soil around them.
The tanks needed to be completely cleaned out before they could be removed and disposed of. This meant someone had to physically climb inside the tanks to get every last drop remaining oil out.
At last it was showtime and the tanks were lifted out and into the truck for disposal. It took and additional 8 months and 2 more trips to the site to remove the contamination left from these tanks and file all necessary reports with the State. Thankfully we are pleased to announce that the site is now officially clean and has been accepted as such by NJ Department of Environmental Protection!
