Planning board recommends soil-import permit for Sussex County Community College gun range amid contamination and safety questions

The Hampton Township Planning Board on Jan. 15 recommended that the Township Committee issue a soil importation permit for the Sussex County Community College (SCCC) Public Safety Training Academy’s proposed outdoor gun range at 114 Morris Turnpike (rear), after hearing technical testimony about soil testing and range design.

Mark Anis, the project’s LSRP, told the board that benzo(a)pyrene — a compound commonly associated with asphalt — was present in samples taken from a donor site but that most samples were below the residential threshold required for educational facilities. "The DEP has put a threshold of three parts per million on commercial and industrial facilities, but a much lower threshold of one-half part per million for residential use," Anis said. He added that the samples exceeding the residential threshold were sequestered and will not be brought to the school site. "Benzo(a)pyrene is commonly found as the result of asphalt in the soil," Anis said, and "it does not get into the air or leech into groundwater. It is a very stable compound." He also confirmed samples are tested prior to movement, not re-tested on delivery.

Board members described the contamination information as central because educational sites are held to the residential standard. After the discussion, a motion to recommend issuance of the soil-import permit passed on a roll call with nine votes in favor and one abstention (Mr. Sivulich).

Engineers for the applicant described a prefabricated metal-and-concrete backstop and a five-sided steel catch box with a rubber-facing wall designed to collect discharged bullets for periodic removal. "The backstop will be a prefabricated metal and concrete structure, specifically designed to allow for the collection of the bullets," said Mark Gimigliano, accepted by the board as an expert engineer. Gimigliano said the structure would be cleaned out about once per year.

Board members pressed for additional safeguards. Chairman Gerard Ambrosi said he had spoken to a professional who trains state troopers and recommended taller berms; Ambrosi, who described himself as a firearms trainer, said he has seen mistakes happen and suggested a 20-foot minimum for berms/backstops in some locations. Members asked the applicant to provide a map showing the range orientation and nearby residences and asked that noise calculations be recalculated using the closest house rather than a more distant reference point.

Attorney David Brady said he would draft a letter outlining the board’s safety concerns and suggestions; Attorney Mark Peck said the school would take the recommendations into consideration. Applicant witnesses estimated construction and installation work could take about two months. The board noted that the soil proposed for importation would meet the non-residential standard where permitted but that educational-use parcels must meet the stricter residential criteria.

Next steps: the Planning Board’s recommendation will be transmitted to the Township Committee, which issues the soil importation permit. The board asked the applicant to return with a clarified orientation map and any design changes the school adopts in response to the board’s safety concerns.