Resident criticizes town response to EPA meeting on Hopewell Precision Superfund plume

Deborah Hall of Creamery Road told the board she felt "let down" after an EPA meeting on contaminated indoor air related to the Hopewell Precision Superfund site, saying the town did not have a representative at the meeting despite her repeated requests.

"You really let us down," Hall said, arguing she received only hours' notice of the EPA session and that the agency had not mailed notices to residents in the Superfund area. She asked whether the town could test indoor air at her house, which she said sits above the highest measured trichloroethylene concentrations. Hall added that monitoring wells near her property are not sampled frequently and urged the town and EPA to act sooner.

Supervisor D'Elzandro replied that the EPA provided limited notice and that town staff were unable to attend in person, but said the town submitted a written comment letter the same day that incorporated residents' concerns. "We went through point by point and objected to every single point that they made," he said, adding the town expects EPA to evaluate and respond to the comments on the record. The town attorney and deputy town engineer noted the municipal technical comments were filed and are part of the formal comment record.

Residents urged further testing and quicker remediation; the town said it will continue working with state and federal agencies, the fire district and its consultants, and encouraged residents to review the town's comment letter and contact town hall with questions.