Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • October 2, 2013 Mahwah Crossroads public hearing nearing an end by Frank J. McMahon The Crossroads Developers Associates, LLC public hearing that is now before the Mahwah Planning Board appears to be nearing an end. The applicant is seeking permission to build a retail mall on the 140-acre International Crossroads property at the intersection of Routes 17 and I-287. Plans include a 600,000 square foot retail center with two big box stores, a 10-plex theater, 200,000 square feet of retail shops along a pedestrian corridor, and an athletic field. Last week, Crossroads attorney James Jaworski said that on Oct. 7 he will present an update of the security plan based on a report he receives from Police Chief James Batelli. He said that is the only item yet to be addressed, although Michael Kelly, the township’s engineer, advised Jaworski that he believes the board should receive a full set of revised plans containing all the changes that have been made as a result of his comments and the testimony during the public hearing. During last week’s public hearing, a licensed remedia- tion professional, an environmental attorney, and the direc- tor of development for Crossroads testified about the status of the remediation of any contamination at the site. Robert Edgar, the remediation professional, advised that there is some mercury and arsenic contamination along the old railroad spur that runs through the site. He said that type of contamination is commonly found in old asphalt, and a recent analysis showed no other contaminants were found. Edgar said these contaminants are fairly common to new development, and they are usually capped by the rede- velopment or by one of several options, such as concrete, asphalt, or two feet of clean soil. The type of cap that will be used has not been determined. Stephen Boswell, a principal of Boswell McClave Engi- neering, the township’s engineering firm, asked Edgar if the remediation of this contamination would be done to residential standards, which are more strict than non-resi- dential standards. Edgar responded that the athletic field planned for the site would be cleaned according to resi- dential standards. However, Tony DiGiovanni, the appli- cant’s director of development, said Edgar was not hired to answer that specific question, and the remedy in this case may require a permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Robert Crespi, an environmental attorney, was asked to address that issue. He explained that, as long as a sufficient cap is installed, a conditional permit would be issued by the NJDEP, but he said no decision on any remediation action has been made. He said, however, if the athletic field can be put on the site with two feet of clean soil they would do that because carrying out the remediation to residential standards would cost a substantial amount of money. Crespi also provided the board with some information about the remediation effort being made by the Ford Motor Company at the site, which is separate from the remedia- tion effort being made by his client. Board member Ward Donigian emphasized that the board has two environmental concerns. One is putting an athletic field on top of contaminated soil, and the other is the protection of the wells that provide drinking water to township residents. Edgar responded that his client is still in the investiga- tion stage, but once that investigation is completed, they would use the NJDEP recommended remediation measures to protect human health and safety. Jaworski explained that the NJDEP has jurisdiction in this environmental matter. He also pointed out that the township’s ordinance states that the location of an athletic field on this site is at the discretion of the planning board. He emphasized, however, that if the board decides that a field should not be located on this site, there would be no increase in the size of the retail mall. DiGiovanni also responded to Donigian, saying any contaminated soil in the area where a detention basin is planned would be removed so it would not impact any ground water in the detention basin. (continued on page 15)