Follow-up Tests Find Little or No Mercury in Residents’ Wells
PETERSBURG – DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette told a meeting room packed with Upper Township residents Oct. 28 that some of the water samples taken from wells in the Beesley’s Point section of town were tampered with to show there were dangerous levels of mercury in the groundwater.
“Some of the initial samples were adulterated,” LaTourette said via Zoom.
“To be clear, the action that led us here is shameful.”
He added that his agency would be seeking civil, regulatory and criminal penalties against the responsible party or parties, and that the state Office of the Attorney General had already been notified.
Residents filled the Upper Township Hall meeting room to capacity to hear the DEP commissioner address their concerns over wells that, according to initial reports, contained dangerous levels of mercury.
Wells in Beesley’s Point were initially tested after a Bayaire Drive resident reported test results revealing a high level of mercury to the Cape May County Health Department, which prompted the testing of more wells in the vicinity of Bayaire Drive.
The Health Department in August and September found 14 more wells, all on Bayaire Drive, where water samples exceeded the 2 ppb standard for mercury, according to Gwen Zervas, director of the DEP’s Division of Remediated Management, Contaminated Site Remediation and Redevelopment, who gave a PowerPoint presentation at the meeting.
Wells on Homestead Court also were tested, but none was found to have mercury above the standard. Anything over 2 ppb is considered dangerous.
Zervas said that initial samples tested as low as “non-detect” and as high as 14,000 ppb.
But of 12 wells tested on Oct. 17, none tested with a dangerous level of mercury. Results for those samples ranged from non-detect to 0.066 ppb. Five of the 12 tests revealed no trace of mercury; the well that tested initially at 14,000 ppb tested at 0.034 ppb. Other wells testing over 10,000 ppb initially were retested, and mercury was not detected.
Residents were notified of the results on Friday, Oct. 25.
Resident Janet Yunghans asked LaTourette if the same lab was responsible for all the erroneous test results; LaTourette said all of the tainted samples came from the same laboratory, which was not named by government officials.
Zervas said all residents whose water initially tested above the standard were told to not drink or cook with their water. On Oct. 9, the federal government advised the state Department of Health that any contamination above 1,000 ppb should not be used for any purpose.
Residents were advised to apply for help from the state’s Spill Fund, for funds that could be used for relocating, acquiring drinking water or obtaining filters for well water.
Moving forward, Zervas said, the DEP is committed to two rounds of testing to ensure the well water is safe. For those who relocated, the cost of relocation is being covered until the DEP is certain mercury levels are acceptable. The agency will also provide bottled drinking water until tests show the well water is safe.
The DEP also conducted confirmatory sampling on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, including on Lake Corson Road, and the results were expected in less than seven days. Wells on Homestead Court will be retested in November.
Resident Jessica Reynolds asked if the new results showing no or negligible amounts of mercury could be trusted. LaTourette said he believed subsequent tests would confirm the water is safe to drink.
Zervas advised any resident who has questions about sampling results to contact Nanina Bryan at Nanina.Bryan@dep.nj.gov or call 609-775-9025. Those who have questions about the Spill Fund and getting payments from it should contact srp_spillfund_gq@dep.nj.gov or call 609-984-2076.
Mayor Jay Newman said he was flabbergasted and shocked by the tampering, which he said is clearly a crime.
“I share your shock,” LaTourette told Newman. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
He added, in response to a resident’s question, that the DEP does not have a role in terms of criminal investigation.
LaTourette confirmed that any costs or testing covered under the Spill Fund would continue until acceptable water quality is confirmed.
The township does not have a water utility or municipal water system. Some residents of Beesley’s Point have water provided by the New Jersey American Water Co., which supplies water to Ocean City. Their connection to New Jersey American Water came as the result of groundwater contamination from a former Texaco station at Route 9 and Roosevelt Boulevard.
A resident asked if the DEP would continue to test the wells periodically; LaTourette said his agency has no regulatory power over private wells and would not test them in the future, but he encouraged homeowners to have their wells tested.
Zervas said she would make her PowerPoint presentation available to the township. Newman said it would be posted on the township’s website.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
