Soil Remediation to Begin at New Milford High School

If you have been wondering what the construction trucks are doing near the exterior wall of the High School auditorium, they are there to begin work on the soil remediation project approved by the Board of Education. 

According to Superintendent Michael Polizzii, this is one of the inherited problems he assumed when he was appointed superintendent. 

Approximately 18 years ago, an oil tank was removed from that area of the high school. Although the project predates the current administration and Board, it was understood that once the tank was removed and the soil was tested for contaminants, the representative from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) declared that the site was cleaned. 

But as it turned out, that was not the case. Polizzi said that approximately nine years ago, the DEP informed Ron Stokes, who had just come on as Supervisor of School Buildings and Grounds, that the New Milford Board of Education was in violation for failure to perform regular soil and air checks on that area. 

According to Polizzi, the person at the DEP who had given New Milford the approvals after the tank was removed had retired and was replaced at the same time that the laws had apparently changed. The new laws required the district to provide the DEP with soil and air samples every few months in order to monitor the area where the oil tank had been removed, Polizzi said. 

"We had arrived at the point where we needed to do something to correct the situation once and for all," Polizzi said. "Doing constant checks was putting a strain on our resources."  

Peak Environmental, an agent of the NJDEP, is overseeing the remediation work. They are a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) with the state of New Jersey. 

"This is just one of the many inherited problems we are trying to correct," Polizzi said. "The soil remediation work was included in the Master Plan for our infrastructure. Project by project we are correcting those problems as we are able to fund them."

The work will be completed before the start of the school year. 

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