Rolling Knolls Landfill to be Redeveloped

The site of the former Rolling Knolls Landfill will be redeveloped, thanks to a recommendation made by the township Planning Board at its meeting Monday night.

Under state Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, the township has the capability to authorize the cleanup of the site. The Planning Board determined that because the site is unlikely to be redeveloped privately, and because it feels the closed landfill "is detrimental to the safety, welfare and health of the community," it recommended the redevelopment.

It formalized its opinion on the matter at its meeting Monday.

The matter is now in the Township Committee's hands. The committee has the power to decide how to go about the redevelopment, and will discuss the matter at future meetings.

The landfill, which is bordered by the Great Swamp National Wildlife refuge on three sides, was in use for about 30 years until 1968. In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found there were contaminants on the site, and has been working with others since 2005 to conduct an investigation to determine the extent of the contamination.

Some of the contaminants include pesticides and volatile organic compounds, according to the EPA Web site.

Planning Board Chairman Joel Jacobson said that the news should come as a relief to residents who live in the vicinity of the unused property.

"One of the residents captured it best," he said, then began quoting the resident. "'We've been living under this cloud for 40 years. Anything you can do to move this forward is a good thing.'"