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We Really Have No Idea

At a public hearing of the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), residents of Clinton expressed opposition to Shoreline Rail and Recycling’s (SRR) proposed industrial waste recycling facility to be located on the former Chesebrough-Ponds site on Route 145. The proposed use would be within five feet of inland wetlands.

Residents of Clinton who spoke in opposition to the New Jersey-owned SRR project were scientists, environmental specialists, engineers, a retired manager of recycling centers, former employees of Chesebrough-Ponds, residents who live in the adjacent Founders Village, and other concerned citizens. Some of the residents of Clinton pointed out that we really have no idea who would be operating the proposed industrial waste dump, and that it could be sold at any time to other even less well-known developers, who could do practically anything with the site. A recent real estate listing for the property by the Geenty Group underscores those points.

I do not know why SRR is selling this property, but the listing indicates that despite the developer’s talk of mesh fences and cement walls to keep the industrial waste from polluting the inland wetlands, the developer is obviously ready to simply pull up stakes and leave at any time.

I ask the dedicated members of the IWC to heed the scientific and practical reports that placing an industrial waste recycling facility at this site would damage inland wetlands and to be aware that they essentially do not know who would own or manage the proposed waste recycling facility.

Madeleine Leveille

Clinton