Cleaning Up Contaminated New Jersey Land Makes Results in Quality of Life, Energy Center, Public Waterfront Park

Contractor to be honored at international CONEXPO-CON/AGG equipment exposition for making a significant difference for the community’s quality of life

By James Robinson

Cleaning up old contaminated industrial sites ranks high on any measure for improving the quality of life in cities and towns across America. And if you can regain access to a riverfront that hasn’t been used in a hundred years, so much the better.

This is what Bayshore Recycling helped accomplish along the Raritan River for the town of Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Bayshore Recycling’s involvement also helped keep costs down, too, due to its nearby proximity and use of material that came from clean, recycled feedstock.

In an industrial section of Woodbridge, just a mile away from where Bayshore Recycling is located, a contaminated 400-plus-acre patch of land sat abandoned and off-limits for years. It had once been home to a chemical plant.

Land Redevelopment Brings Value, Electricity, to Thousands of Homes

In 2009, the area was designated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as one of the state’s six polluted Brownfield Development Area sites, making its redevelopment a state priority. That same year, Competitive Power Ventures, an energy company based in Maryland, announced a plan to build the Woodbridge Energy Center, using part of this land to build a large natural gas generator that would bring electricity to thousands of homes in New Jersey.

A unique project development collaboration was spearheaded by Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac. The Township (Woodbridge Redevelopment Agency), State regulators (DEP), private sector (EPEC Polymers, Inc., an affiliate of El Paso Corporation acquired by Kinder Morgan, Inc. in May 2012), contractors and suppliers (Bayshore Recycling and others) and the environmental community (Edison Wetlands) all worked together to complete site remediation and set the stage for construction of the natural gas power plant.

But it was going to be a long road to reclaim, remediate, and level the polluted land.

“The land was abandoned, overgrown, scattered with litter, cordoned off, and contaminated,” notes Gary Sondermeyer, vice president of operations for Bayshore Recycling, the largest recycling company in New Jersey.

The Woodbridge Energy Center, situated on 27.5 acres at the Keasbey BDA site, represents a 700-mega-watt natural gas-fueled electric generating facility that will produce enough electricity to power 700,000 homes. The Woodbridge Energy Center is expected to employ more than 500 skilled workers during peak construction ($60 million payroll during construction) and more than 25 permanent jobs when operational ($3.5 million annual payroll). Woodbridge Township will benefit with millions of dollars in tax rateables and host fees with the commencement of construction.

“Bayshore Recycling wanted to be a part of the project from the outset,” Sondermeyer says, noting the company’s proximity to the site.

Bayshore’s hard work, along with 200,000 tons of aggregate concrete material and 765,000 tons of construction fill, has played a key role in the restoration of this land over the past four years.

Contractor Uses Recycled Materials during Construction

The company was heavily involved in nine months of intensive remediation between the end of 2012 and the first half of 2013 that prepared the Woodbridge Energy Center site for construction. The company provided 35,000 truckloads of material.

Bayshore’s concrete aggregates are recycled from roads and parking lots and form a core part of the company’s business. This material was used to construct roads that ensured the area would be accessible to future vehicles. The concrete aggregate was also used to construct a 7,000-foot-long hydraulic barrier wall, build a soil cap, and seal off an affected pond.

To date, significant progress has also been made in restoring the wetland areas. The site is now DEP compliant. “There’s no question, nothing could have moved forward without this work,” Sondermeyer says.

From the outset, Sondermeyer was impressed that the property’s developer, local government, and the environmental community were able to work so well together. They created a plan that would repair almost half the vast polluted site and bring huge benefit to Woodbridge, creating new business, restoring wetlands, and building a public park.

“This project is a win-win-win,” Sondermeyer says. And the evidence stacks up to his claim.

When completed in early 2016, the Woodbridge Energy Center’s 700-megawatt natural gas generator will power 700,000 homes in New Jersey, helping to meet growing energy demands and improve energy reliability.

Project Brings Jobs, Restores Wetlands, Creates Park

Moreover, the local economy will benefit -- 500 skilled workers will be employed during the Center’s construction, which is set to begin at the end of the year. When operational, it is estimated that the facility will employ 25 people (with a commitment from the developer to hire locally). Woodbridge Township will also benefit from millions of dollars in tax rateables (property taxes) and host fees due to the Center’s construction.

The Woodbridge Energy Center will take up just 27 acres of the soon-to-be developed 176-acre area. Restored wetlands and a waterfront park, complete with two miles of hiking trails, riverfront boardwalks, bird-viewing areas, educational signage and space for relaxed recreation, will take up most of the remaining space and be completed by the spring of 2015.

“This area and waterfront haven’t been actively used by the public for 100 years,” Sondermeyer says. He points out that a local high school is also part of the project in having students grow the wetland species plants in greenhouses that they will also install to develop the Waterfront Park. “It’s living environmental education,” he says.

Construction of the energy center has not yet gotten underway, but when it does, there will already have been 35,830 accident-free work hours put toward the planned $842 million Woodbridge Energy Center, facilitated in a huge way by Bayshore Recycling.

Woodbridge Township’s mayor, John McCormac, was thrilled with Bayshore Recycling’s work on the project. Not only did they prepare the area for construction of a project that provides massive economic benefits, they helped make possible the huge environmental gains in the restored wetlands.

“The completion of remediation represents another milestone in the continuing efforts to clean up and restore the area. The overall project has been a tremendous boost to the township,” McCormac says.

For contributions to our quality of life, Bayshore Recycling will be recognized at North America’s largest construction equipment trade show, CONEXPO-CON/AGG. A company representative and one guest will receive a free trip to the show in Las Vegas in March 2014.

At CONEXPO-CON/AGG, they will see all the innovative new equipment that will continue to support their work for better living brought to you by the men and women of the construction industries.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is the international gathering place in North America for the construction industries. The event features exhibits of the latest technologies and innovations in equipment, products and services plus extensive industry-targeted education. The next CONEXPO-CON/AGG is March 4-8, 2014 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA. More than 100,000 attendees are expected. For more information about CONEXPO-CON/AGG, visit www.conexpoconagg.com.