Glen Road Garage Cited By DEP For ‘Significant Hazard’

By John Voket

The owner of Sandy Hook Automotive & Marine Corp at 7 Glen Road was ordered April 9 to conduct ongoing sampling of its well water, as well as sampling of all water supply wells within 500 feet of the property, after the discovery of MTBE, copper, and zinc during an environmental site assessment in October 2007.

George Wakelee, a contact for the owner of record, Adolph Dreher, was notified along with the town, about the Department of Environmental Protection’s order. The action was announced to the Board of Finance by First Selectman Joe Borst April 14 during discussions about the status of streetscape improvements in Sandy Hook Center.

On that same date, Donna Culbert, Newtown’s director of health, received a copy of the letter sent to Mr Borst, notifying him that a significant environmental hazard report had been issued for the property located at 9 Glen Road in Sandy Hook [identified as 7 Glen Road by the town assessor].

According to Ms Culbert, Mr Borst inquired about the memo, as it was the first of this type of report he had seen during his tenure.

Ms Culbert told The Newtown Bee that she has seen just a few of these in her time at the Health District, and that the details of the cover letter from the DEP summarize the severity of the situation.

“The significant environmental hazard reported is that pollution was detected in the drinking water well, but it is below standards,” Ms Culbert said, hoping to reassure neighbors that no severe health threat is imminent.

“The CT DEP directs the property owner to resample the on-site water supply well and to identify and sample wells with 500 feet of the site for pollutants detected at the site,” she said. “The pollutants indicated are MTBE — methyl tert-butyl ether, a gasoline additive — copper and zinc.”

According to the DEP’s report, the issue first came to light when Facility Support Services, LLC of Hamden was contracted to perform an environmental site assessment on behalf of potential buyers for the property, identified as Scott and Deborah Schifilliti. Once the contaminants were identified, it triggered a mandatory reporting to the DEP in accordance with state law.

“Analytical results of well water collected from the tap found detections of MTBE,” the original memo stated. “In addition…copper and zinc were detected, though these constituents were detected at levels which are more likely to be attributable to the piping at the…location.”

The DEP notification to the owner indicated a concentration of eight parts per billion of the MTBE. There is no adopted groundwater protection criteria for copper or zinc, the memo continues. Ms Culbert said the action level concentration for MTBE is 70 parts per billion.

“I wouldn’t want to drink eight, but it is a long way from 70,” the health director said, adding that it is likely other private water sources in Newtown have low levels of MTBE.

The action level dictates a concentration above which the state Dept of Health has determined there could be risk to the health of those consuming the affected water.

Ms Culbert also assured the first selectman that her department will be following up with the DEP as well as the property owner, to confirm that the required sampling is conducted and any required remedial action is pursued.

Any residents with questions are invited to contact Ms Culbert during regular office hours at 270-4291.