Plan To Dump Compost Is Opposed

Ed Stella Jr., of Stella Contracting Inc. in Winslow, has asked the DEP for permission to apply composted sludge to a 50-acre farm he owns in Winslow and a 70-acre Monroe farm owned by Nicholas C. Muni. Stella said earlier in the week that the project might not get under way because the composted sludge is unavailable.

Stella receives the compost from the Philadelphia Water Department, which pays him and other haulers to take it away. In past years, he has dumped the compost on land in Millville, but that community has gone to court to prevent him from continuing the practice.

Although Stella has requested approval of dumping sites in Gloucester and Camden Counties, he said yesterday that the Water Department may no longer have enough of the sludge to go around.

Schiffman and Tim Cochran, an environmental specialist for the DEP's residual management division, told the residents that preliminary tests on the

Monroe site, located on the Black Horse Pike near Hospitality Creek, show that the site is suitable. The Winslow site, on Route 73 near Pump Branch Road, has not been tested, they said.

Schiffman said he would re-evaluate the DEP's testing process before making a decision.