After 20 years, Lasinski landfill nears closure

HARDYSTON-Hardyston has been trying to close the Lasinski Road landfill since the 1980s. Now, at last, it appears that the township will be able to move forward with the job. The landfill, which contains only household garbage, was shut down in the early 1980s. But no one at the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) could locate the closure records. Officially closing the site became important a number of years ago when NJ Transit, which has a rail line that skirts the landfill, proposed to build a switching yard at the site. The plan included a blueprint for officially closing the landfill in a way that met state regulations. Closure plans came to a halt when N.J. Transit abandoned its plans to develop the switching yard. In late 2004, Hardyston Township officials met with DEP staff to come up with a new strategy to close the landfill, based on modifications to NJ Transit's original outline. But NJ Transit officials couldn't locate the closure plan they'd drafted. Now, finally, a copy has been located and forwarded electronically to Hardyston officials. That will allow township engineer Keith Utter to work with a local engineering firm to review and redevelop the specifications. The township is soliciting bids for that work, and aims to have a new closure plan ready for state environmental officials to review before the end of the year. Township Manager Marianne Smith says that the cost to redevelop the closure plan should come in at approximately $20,000. The township had already been approved for two $500,000 grants from the N.J. Department of Treasury and the N.J. Department of Community Affairs to pay for closing the landfill. Because of the delays in locating the closure plan, Smith asked for and received extensions on both grants to Dec. 31 of this year and beyond, if necessary. In addition, the DEP has authorized the township to use $6,000 currently held in an old landfill trust account to help pay for the engineering work. Today, the site of the Hardyston's landfill on Lasinski Road is serene. Red winged blackbirds nest between the stalks of reeds and cattails. A mass of lavender monardia is in bloom, and tall hot-pink spikes of purple loosestrife border the boggy wetlands.