Commissioners approve environmental covenant with EPA for two Peter Cartridge Facility parcels

Warren County commissioners voted to authorize the board president or vice president to execute an environmental covenant with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency covering two county-owned parcels near the Peter Cartridge Facility site in Hamilton Township as part of the Superfund remediation process.

County staff described the Peter Cartridge Facility site as a Superfund-designated cleanup that began with EPA orders in 2009 and subsequent actions in 2012 requiring DuPont to perform remediation. The parcels before the board are former roadway/right-of-way parcels acquired for bridge and road relocation projects; staff said they are largely vacant or used as right of way.

The draft covenant restricts certain land uses — generally limiting residential use and prohibiting groundwater extraction on the affected parcels — and includes activity- and use-limits, soil-management requirements and compliance-reporting obligations. County engineering staff told the commissioners they have been submitting annual compliance reports since the county purchased some right-of-way parcels for the relocated bridge project and would be able to continue to meet the reporting requirement for these parcels.

County staff said this set of two parcels appeared less complex than an additional parcel still under review, which contains a portion of the Middletown Junction well fields and raises more substantial groundwater concerns. The board was told that the parcel with the water-supply implications would be handled separately and returned to the board at a later date.

Commissioners and staff discussed whether the county had adequate notice or a role when the EPA first imposed covenants in 2009–2012; staff said some parcels were encumbered earlier because prior property owners agreed to covenants. The county attorney and engineers said the two parcels presented limited operational risk because they are road-related right-of-way and unlikely sites for future wellheads. The resolution passed by unanimous roll call.