Officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a violation notice against the construction company for dumping excavated material onto a beach in Deal instead of disposing it offsite. Watch video
DEAL -- A federal sub-contractor violated New Jersey's anti-dumping laws when it disposed of excavated material on the beach in Deal, state officials said on Tuesday.
Agate Construction Co. of Ocean View dumped an undetermined amount of fill onto the Roosevelt Avenue beach in Deal last week when the loads actually were supposed to be taken offsite, said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
After concerned citizens reported the dumping to the DEP on Friday, the state sent out an inspector and on Monday issued the company a notice of violation alleging the company's "unauthorized activities" violated the state's Waterfront Development Act and the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, Hajna said.
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Agate was sub-contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make improvements to the outfall pipe connecting Poplar Brook to the ocean in Deal.
The work is part of a larger post-Hurricane Sandy project to widen the beaches in Deal and prevent flooding in major storms.
Hajna said the material removed from the brook from that project was a clay-like substance that contained chunks of concrete block or brick, among other things. By state law, the material should have been tested for contaminants, but was not, he said.
Although state environmental protection officials don't expect the material to contain very elevated levels of contaminants, there is the possibility of the presence of gasoline, pesticides or metals in it, he said.
The work on the new box culvert and outfall extension at Poplar Brook was underway on Thursday when the sub-contractor was seen dumping excavated material into the surf zone,' said Vincent Elias, a spokesman for the Corps' New York District.
"This is unacceptable and did not follow the terms of the contract," he said in a written statement.
Elias said the contractor was immediately ordered to stop work and to remove the material from the surf zone and place it higher up on the beach until it could be disposed of as required by the contract's plans and specifications.
The material was moved out of the surf zone by late Friday afternoon, he said.
The Corps and the DEP are examining the details of the incident and are in discussions with the contractor "to ensure all contract requirements are met," Elias said.
"This will continue to ensure that disposal of the material is done in a manner that is safe and environmentally acceptable," he said.
Staff members from the environmental group Clean Ocean Action, however, questioned the efficacy of the temporary storage plan in light of Tuesday's heavy rain storm with gusty winds and high tides.
Clean Ocean Action staff members said a small black woven material fence around the pile and the berm of sand being pushed up to prevent the pile from being washed into the ocean don't appear to be enough to hold back Tuesday's night's high tide.
Hajna said the violation notice doesn't specify fines, but he noted the DEP can issue fines in the future.
