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Middlesex Water seeks new PFAS treatment building and silo in Edison; board hears technical testimony and public concerns
Summary
Middlesex Water presented plans for a ~58,000 sq ft PFAS treatment building and 55-foot PAC silo at the CJO treatment plant to meet forthcoming federal limits (4 ppt). Engineers described required height and a plan for secondary truck access; residents raised tree-removal and visibility concerns. The board carried the application to Aug. 25 to secure a fuller quorum.
Middlesex Water Company presented a proposal to expand the Carl J. Olsen treatment plant in Edison with a new PFAS treatment building (roughly 58,000 square feet) and a 55-foot powder-activated carbon silo, seeking height variances and site-plan approval.
Richard Skolnick, counsel for the applicant, said the upgrades are needed to meet new federal drinking-water standards for PFAS; Brian Carr, Middlesex27s New Jersey vice president of engineering, told the board the federal compliance level is 4 parts per trillion and that the company must have treatment in place by April 2029. "The CJO plant is our primary drinking water plant for the system. It provides 75% of the drinking water for our system," Carr said. Engineers from CDM Smith described the layout, new stormwater facilities, 50 new parking spaces, and a repurposed access road that would route large truck deliveries away from Fairview Avenue through an easement and a Segme warehouse property.
The applicant's civil engineer said the PAC silo height and the building height are driven by process needs (deep GAC contactors and storage capacity) and by operational needs to limit delivery frequency. Residents questioned tree removal (96 trees to be removed; 128 proposed replacements), dust, visual impacts and whether the 200-foot notice radius was sufficient for a project of this scale. The board acknowledged the technical record but requested more member participation and carried the application to August 25, 2026.
