To the Editor:

I am licensed by the NJDEP and for ten years have owned an environmental contracting company that I still work for in a consulting capacity. I was asked by Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods to review a Phase I Environmental Assessment report performed by EcolSciences, Inc. as well as some conclusions in an Environmental Impact Study performed by Maser Consulting P.A., both on behalf of AvalonBay. The areas of the reports that I was specifically reviewing were those dealing with Underground Storage Tanks (USTs). The EcolSciences report lists four active UST systems: one 4,000 gallon diesel tank, one 1,000 gallon gasoline tank, and two 30,000 gallon fuel oil tanks. In addition, USTs were removed at 6 and 10 Harris Road and found to be leaking and as of the date of the EcolSciences report, soil and possible ground water contamination remained on both of these sites as a result of the leakage.

The Maser report summarizes the EcolSciences report in one sentence: “Site specific investigations performed for the property by Ecolsciences regarding the presence of underground tanks and possible contamination revealed that no underground storage tanks or contamination were found on the property” (p. 10). I had to read that statement several times. It is astounding to me that Maser could write their report and leave the existence of the tanks and known contamination out of the report. The EcolSciences report is not hard to read and it is not so cumbersome that even a lay person could find the section dealing with the tanks. Not to mention the fact that 30,000 gallon tanks are big — as in 50 feet long and 10 feet in diameter — and there are two of them. The main ways to these tanks are impossible to miss for anyone who walks the site. The only conclusion that I can draw is that Maser was extremely negligent when preparing their report. I do not even want to consider the only other possibility, which is that the information was left out of Maser’s report purposely. I understand that Maser does have a good reputation so I would have to assume that it was negligence. In any case, it calls into serious doubt the conclusions that Maser has drawn in its report and in my opinion, not only the conclusions about tanks and contamination that are known to exist on the site, but other conclusions as well.

Please come to the October 25 meeting of the Planning Board, Township Hall, 7:30 pm, where the Board will be considering the AvalonBay application. Let your concerns be known either by speaking or simply showing up.

Steven Hoffman

Jefferson Road