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HAMILTON TOWNSHIP - The township is looking for a company willing to spend $5 million to clean up its old landfill.

Township officials believe it's a nifty investment that could eventually help the company turn a healthy profit from running what they said earlier would be the state's largest solar energy park.

Township officials said Monday that legislation signed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine in May requires municipalities to clean up their contaminated sites or have the work done by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP would then bill the municipalities for the work, he said.

However, local officials said the municipality just doesn't have that kind of money.

Township Administrator Edward Sasdelli said the plan now would ideally be to find a company willing to take on the $5 million worth of liability related to the cleanup. That company would likely want something in return from the township, although it's too early to determine just what that would be, he said.

Township Committee members said during their meeting Monday that they want the proposed solar-energy park project to continue.

"There's going to be a lot of people who will be interested in this," Township Committeeman Roger Silva said.

Township Committeewoman Amy Gatto said the municipality should check with the state Board of Public Utilities to see if any financial help is available.

The 16-acre landfill is located near the Atlantic County Special Services School in Mays Landing.

Township officials believe the solar energy park that could be built there would cost about $45 million to $50 million. They estimate the solar panels on the site would generate enough energy to power about 6,000 homes.

Township officials say the municipality could garner needed funds through either leasing or renting the land to the company that would run the solar energy park. They also believe the township could get additional revenue related to the sale of electricity.

The township has already used a $379,000 DEP grant to finance work to determine what kind of material is buried at the site and to determine how far any contamination has seeped into the ground or spread from the site.

Sasdelli said new monitoring wells were dug at the site this past summer.

The township has for years supplied the DEP with quarterly reports on the condition of the site.

Contact Thomas Barlas:

609-272-7201

TBarlas@pressofac.com

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