Allendale board approves permanent PFOS treatment, pump station and generator with conditions

Veolia Water New Jersey Inc. won approval from the borough board on Thursday to convert a temporary PFOS treatment system at its New Street site into a permanent ion‑exchange filtration plant, build a new pump station and install an emergency generator, with the company required to meet several conditions before full operation.

Craig Bassong, attorney for Veolia, told the board that Veolia recently purchased the Allendale water system and must upgrade treatment to comply with EPA and New Jersey DEP guidelines for PFOS, “Forever Chemicals” that regulators say must be removed from drinking water. He said the company expects the new facilities to be operational in about two years, with demolition of the existing water treatment plant following within roughly six months.

Michael Mondello, a licensed professional engineer with Arcadis who prepared the site plans, described the permanent filtration as an ion‑exchange system in which pumped water is passed over resin beads that trap PFOS, with treated water then returned to the distribution system. Mondello said treatment equipment will be sited within the existing DPW garage footprint where possible because of a nearby flood zone, and that the new 20‑foot pump station was located outside the floodway to reduce flood risk.

Residents raised questions about emissions, security and noise. Mondello said the ion‑exchange system itself does not create emissions and that site security cameras will be tied into the SCADA monitoring system. He estimated media changeouts for the ion resin at roughly every 12–18 months and said temporary frac tanks used with the current carbon system would be needed only rarely under the new design.

Several neighbors asked about noise from the proposed generator and about landscaping after the old plant is demolished. Bassong and the applicant agreed to submit generator specifications for the board engineer’s review, to limit monthly generator cycling used for maintenance to weekday business hours, and to work with the board engineer on landscaping or restoration of the area where the old treatment plant is removed, subject to any flood‑zone or Green Acres restrictions.

At the conclusion of the hearing the board moved to approve the application with the stated conditions. The motion was made in the meeting record as moved by Blake Loesch and seconded; the roll call in the record shows unanimous approval. Counsel for the applicant said he would provide a draft resolution to the board in advance of the next hearing.

The application package included site plan sheets showing the DPW garage, the proposed pump station and lighting plans; the applicant also agreed to remove existing on‑site shipping containers except for temporary emergency use and to repair/restore any infrastructure damage caused during construction, including culvert and bridge impacts. The board and applicant agreed to coordinate on tree planting and screening that will survive in any flood‑prone areas.

The board did not act on items unrelated to the application, and several public commenters emphasized continuing oversight of operational details such as capacity, trucking for media changes and coordination with any separate private‑property proposals that remain subject to litigation.

The board set the conditions on record and approved the application; the applicant and board staff will finalize the resolution and technical cut sheets before the next meeting.