Consultants find hot spots at Schedler site; manager to recommend $1.5 million for remediation

Consultants from Matrix told the Ridgewood Village Council on March 5 that soil testing at the village-owned Zabriskie Schedler property found contamination in three “grid” areas that the firm recommends excavating and disposing of, and that eight additional grid locations require further delineation before the full scope of cleanup can be set.

Matrix senior environmental scientist and project manager Melissa Fury told the council the firm had completed horizontal and vertical delineation at grids 16, 18 and 26 and "Matrix recommends to just remove the whole berm." Senior project manager Chris Pinerisi said Matrix will draft a work plan for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to review before crews return to the site.

Why this matters: Ridgewood officials and residents have been debating whether and how to develop the seven-acre Schedler parcel for recreation while addressing soil contamination found in parts of the property. The council heard technical details from Matrix and discussed funding and timing for the next steps; public commenters raised health and historic-preservation concerns.

What Matrix reported

Fury said Matrix first sampled the berm in May 2024, then sampled the flat portion of the property in June 2024, identified exceedances in February 2025, and completed delineation work in November 2024. The firm concluded grids 16, 18 and 26 were “fully delineated horizontally and vertically” for compounds that exceeded NJDEP standards and recommended excavation and disposal for those grid areas. Fury told the council the team will return to further delineate grids 4, 10, 11, 20, 21, 208, 301 and 304 (reported in the presentation as "grid 20 8, grid 30 1, and grid 30 4").

Pinerisi said the compounds Matrix is tracking are “fairly immobile” and that, based on NJDEP guidance, the soil results to date do not trigger a groundwater investigation because contamination has not been encountered close enough to the water table at drilled depths. "We just really haven't triggered that at this point," he said. He added that Matrix did not encounter groundwater in borings to 10 feet and that the deepest contamination identified so far was about 2½ to 3 feet, leaving a roughly seven-foot buffer from the water table at the locations tested.

Timing, DEP approvals and next steps

Matrix expects to return to the site for the additional delineation testing within about a month. Pinerisi said Matrix will submit a work plan to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for review; the firm typically receives conditional approval about a week after submittal, after which it will conduct the field work. Council discussion and staff comments projected 6–8 weeks for results after that testing and anticipated remediation could occur this summer.

Budget and village direction

Village Manager Keith told the council he will recommend that this year’s capital budget include $1,500,000 for remediation of Schedler, “based on what you know today,” and asked whether Matrix was comfortable with that number as a planning estimate. Pinerisi and Fury indicated the recommendation was reasonable given the current scope, while noting the final cost depends on results of the remaining delineation.

Keith and staff later told the council the work falls under an existing authorization and that, if DEP conditionally approves a work plan, Matrix can schedule the additional testing without a separate contract amendment or a new resolution to council.

Public information and consultant hours

Council members and staff said the village posted more than 200 public questions and Matrix's answers on the village website; Matrix staff told the council they had spent substantial time preparing the responses (Fury said about 25 billable hours; Pinerisi estimated 50–80 hours). Fury and Pinerisi also said they had been in phone contact with DEP and had sent the same report to the agency on the same day the village received it.

Disposal, trees and signage

Matrix said soils removed from hot spots will be sent to disposal facilities that accept more contaminated material and that decontamination of equipment will be required to avoid cross‑contamination. Council members asked about the roughly 105 trees on the berm; Matrix said trees may be transplantable if soil is not moved with root balls, but that excavation could harm some trees depending on the depth and location of removal. Pinerisi said the public notice sign for the site will be removed once a Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) issues a remedial action outcome document after remediation is complete.

What council members and residents said

Residents in public comment urged caution and raised health and historic‑preservation concerns. Michael Noe and other residents said they worry about long‑term environmental and health effects for children who would use fields at the site; other speakers pressed the council about the historic house on the parcel and the sequence of regulatory work the village has done. Council members repeatedly said they were seeking to balance remediation, reuse and historic preservation, and asked staff and consultants for clarity on timing, scope and funding.

Remaining unknowns

Matrix identified additional grid locations needing further testing; the firm will sample to define the lateral and vertical extent of contamination at those grids and then propose remedial actions to DEP. The exact volume of soil to be removed, final disposal facility selections and the ultimate remediation cost depend on that pending delineation work and DEP review.

Ending note

Matrix and village staff said they would post updated results and answers to public questions, and that the village would notify interested parties when new material is posted. Council members said they expect further information and a formal budget recommendation in the coming weeks.