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Residents press Lambertville officials over PFAS‑contaminated wells as council funds environmental work
Summary
Residents told the council that 74 wells on Conant Hill were tested and 71 were contaminated with PFAS; the council opened public comment on remediation, discussed DEP testing and later approved a contract to hire LSRP services for park remediation.
Residents pressed Lambertville officials on March 20 to speed action after they said testing found widespread PFAS contamination on Conant Hill and that many neighbors remain without reimbursed testing and bottled water.
"For the record, 74 wells have been tested on Conant Hill. Seventy‑one of those wells are contaminated and are not safe for consumption," Beth O’Brien told the council during public comment. She urged the city to keep the issue on the record and noted the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection plans additional testing in May.
A licensed site remediation professional, Roger Ferguson, told the council he was "livid" at recent cleanup work at Cavallo Park and said the town should ask the DEP to assume direct oversight if remediation time frames continue to be missed. Ferguson said he would press the DEP because, in his view, prior work was "incompetent" and some firms on the project lacked an on‑staff LSRP (Licensed Site Remediation Professional).
Council members opened the ordinance providing $140,000 for environmental investigation and remediation at Coelho/Cavallo Park for public comment as a second reading, drawing questions about whether the town would seek to recoup costs from responsible parties and whether subcontractors had appropriate LSRP coverage.
Separately, the council voted to award a contract to Brownfield Science and Technology to provide LSRP services for preliminary assessment work at Duval Park, a resolution the governing body adopted by voice vote. The mayor said Brownfield Science will subcontract through the city engineer; council members recorded aye votes and the motion carried.
Officials and residents discussed next steps for oversight and testing. Some residents urged the municipality to press state agencies for further testing, mapping of affected wells and, if necessary, legal remedies to recover costs. City staff said they will continue coordination with the engineer and DEP and will provide updates as remediation work proceeds.
The meeting closed with the mayor thanking residents for raising the matter; the council signaled it would keep the public informed as testing and remediation work advance.
