The Denholtz Property
“Since the construction has begun on that private property located off of Avenue D there have been a few residents who have expressed environmental concerns ranging from dust, noxious odors, contamination, to reports of oil sheen on the water,” wrote Atlantic Highlands Borough administrator in response to an Asbury Park Press article on the situation on the Denholtz property on Avenue D.
The Press article, written by award winning reporter Jerry Carino, cited quotes from local residents who have complained about the situation at the Brant Point development site along the Sandy Hook bay front where Developer Steven Denholtz is building 16 multimillion-dollar homes
The lot was once home to large tanks built by Standard Oil. Denholtz has maintained he is complying with the state and cleaning up questionable soil as it is found.
After the article was published indicating there had been no response to questions from Carino to the borough’s administrator or Mayor Loretta Gluckstein, Ferragina wrote a lengthy response that traced the history of the situation.
“The NJDEP has informed us that several complaints were filed with it, each of which has been investigated,” Ferragina wrote. “The NJDEP has visited the (Denholtz) site several times and has not taken any action to revise the plan or halt construction.”
“No Hazmat activity is taking place on the site. Likewise, the Monmouth County Health Department (MCDOH), is dispatched each time an official complaint is made and has been on site at least eight times.”
Neither NJDEP nor the MCDOH have identified any need for action from their respective departments, and the construction site has been kept active.
The Borough Code Enforcement Officer has been on site multiple times per day and has not identified any municipal code violations. The Borough Fire Marshall and Water/Sewer Licensed Superintendent have also been on site on several occasions with no concerns or violations to-date.
Ferragina’s letter continued: “Preliminarily, the Borough, its engineer and other professionals have been in regular contact with NJDEP and the County Board of Health (MCDOH) regarding the Denholtz construction site. The public was advised of the Borough’s interaction with the contractor and the State and County regulators at the last council meeting. The site is the subject of a remediation plan and has been issued a ground water remedial action permit. Under that plan, a Licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) is on site. “
It continued that “”The Borough OEM Coordinator has been advised of the complaints to the NJDEP and also does not have any concerns at this time.
My office has had conversations with the Atlantic Highlands Police Chief and the DPW Director regarding road closures and any needs or concerns their respective departments may have relative to their respective roles.
At the Borough code enforcement officer’s request, the contractor has a water truck on site to minimize dusting. The Borough Department of Public Works is assisting with refilling the water truck. The Borough has also confirmed that all appropriate permits regarding the construction site have been filed, to date.
My office has advised the Borough attorney and engineer of the complaints filed with the NJDEP and as a result the borough attorney has sent a formal communication to the NJDEP regarding the concerns raised by some residents.
The Borough Engineer and I recently met with the site LSRP and Denholtz representatives. We advised that the Avenue D entrance should continue to be the primary entrance for the construction site. The LSRP from the Borough’s engineering firm has been in communication with the site LSRP. The Borough has also had direct contact and conversations with the NJDEP Environmental Specialist who has confirmed the site is in compliance, the MCDOH – Assistant Environmental Health Coordinator who has been at the site approximately eight times, to date, regarding various complaints, and the MCDOH – Public Health Coordinator.
“Residents who have environmental concerns may contact the DEP directly. Those residents who have contacted the Borough have been provided the contact information for the NJDEP and those concerns have been shared with the property Site Manager, the Borough Code Enforcement Officer and the Borough Engineer.”
“At the last council meeting both the Borough Engineer and the Borough Administrator provided thorough updates for the public and welcomed questions. They will update the public with any new developments at the September meeting.”
The Press article included quotes from several local residents, including Mark Fisher, a frequent questioner at borough council meetings on numerous subjects he has researched. Fisher is also known for following up on responses from Council to ensure they do what they tell the public at previous meetings they will do they did.
One of the photos with the Press article Fisher took when he took dug into the blackened sand from the high-tide zone near the site. He dug holes up to a foot deep in the sand near the construction and displayed it in jars he has labeled with time, date and location.
“The stench was so bad,” Fisher told the Press,” I would call it a chemical, hydrocarbon smell. I worked in the oil industry for 40 years (in operations), so this stuff is not unfamiliar to me.”
Fisher said the lot was developed by Standard Oil (later Exxon) in 1929 and used for decades with oil tanks dotting the tract, before it passed on to McConnell Realty Co. ““When I swam in Sandy Hook Bay as a kid, when you looked down the coastline you were looking at three or four very large tanks at the McConnell property. You didn’t think twice about it then, but as an adult you think, ‘Man, that was really close to the water, all those chemical and oil products.’ In hindsight that’s probably 80, 90 years’ worth of sins that went into the ground there,.” Said Fisher, who grew up in the area.
This is not the first time Fisher has brought the matter (Denholtz property) to the attention of the borough. In 2019, when the matter was before the planning board, he warned officials that the tract’s environmental challenges were immense, displaying photos of brown plumes in the bay just beyond the construction site, plumes, he said, caused by silt runoff from the site. The Planning Board approved the multi-million dollar planned residential housing.
Another local resident, Vinnie Whitehead, a retired teacher and coach at Henry Hudson School and a candidate for borough council in November, was drawn to the waterfront next to the construction site to investigate. “We started smelling the oil fumes,” he said in the Press article.. “We came down here and did some digging and found some oil sheen. So we’re just concerned.”
According to the Press, Steven Denholtz told reporter Carino by phone Wednesday that before he purchased the seven acre tract from McConnell in 1918, the state DEP had “signed off saying there was nothing wrong with the soil. Of course, if it shows up later, you’ve got to clean it up. The last thing we want to do is have people exposed to anything dangerous. You can’t survive running a business without being responsible.”
Thursday afternoon, the NJDEP issued a field Notice of Violation (NOV) to Brant Point Development for violation of N.J.A.C 7:14A-24(a)1, failure of the permittee to process and/or operate in compliance with a certified soil erosion and sediment control plan. The directive gives Brant Point Development 30 days in which to comply with the Soil Erosion Sediment Control Plan approved by the Freehold Soil Conservation District or submit a revised plan to the district.
Denholtz has said the Brant Point site is fully compliant with all New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) remediation regulations and has letters from the NJDEP certifying remediation work has been completed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. He told the Press “We continue to work closely with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Monmouth County, the Borough of Atlantic Highlands, the Freehold Soil Conservation District and the United States Coast Guard to ensure adherence to all applicable national, state and local soil, groundwater and air standards. The site is continually monitored by a state-approved third-party Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) who will immediately address any additional remediation issues that may arise.”
Fisher remains unimpressed and concerned about the future of the borough. “My opinion is elected officials should be the loudest voices on what’s going on with this project (Denholtz) on behalf of the 4,300 residents of the town. “This is a bayside community; that bay is what draws people to this town. And yet when I stuck a jar full of tainted sand under the nose of a borough official, he told me, ‘Our hands are tied; it’s under DEP control.’”
This column multiply cites, but does not identify, Robert Ferragina as the AH Borough Administrator. It also seems to lift, wholesale, from Ferragina’s published response, but the formatting does not make it clear (by properly using quote marks or indents) where those segment(s) begin and end. For lengthy passages, it’s not clear whether the writer (Smith) is speaking, or the Borough Administrator.
Trying to ferret out who’s credible and not credible on this issue is the challenge. The man on the street here has got to be scratching his head, though, at the changes and proposals coming to this town. The Carton Brewery is an eyesore; a four-story building proposed for where Mike’s Deli now stands would wall off the sun over First Avenue (and how many variances is the developer now asking for?); and the proposed development where St. Agnes now stands might just transform Avenue D into a busy thoroughfare. Given all this, what does the future of Atlantic Highlands look like?
But, back to the subject at hand: on the one hand, we have Ferragina and Denholtz promising that the environment is being protected over on Avenue D; but on the other, when I stepped out my door, this last Sunday, there was a prominent petroleum-ish smell in the air. Admittedly, I couldn’t tell where it was coming from; but if the job is to decide who’s credible and not credible, who — or what — stinks?