Editor’s note: Although today’s state Board of Public Utilities hearing at 4 pm in Morris Plains is scheduled to address Jersey Central Power Light’s response to Tropical Storm Irene, Morristown’s exploding manholes may be raised as well. Here is a letter to the BPU from Morristown resident Siobhan Cavanaugh.
Dear Ms. Izzo;
Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Siobhan Cavanaugh and I have been a resident of Franklin Place in Morristown, New Jersey since November 2006. One of the things that I have enjoyed most about living in this town is the sense of security, safety, and community. However, as you are aware, in the last two years we have had three large explosions on South Street and I have personally seen and heard two of those–the one outside Walgreens Pharmacy this past spring, and the one on James Street that occurred late August. These are not small eruptions of gas, but large explosions. In fact there was so much black smoke billowing up from the manhole explosion outside Walgreens that it was difficult to discern from several blocks away whether the explosion occurred in front of the pharmacy or in the adjacent parking lot of Kings grocery store. Some of my neighbors will be providing testimony to you tomorrow and others have already done so, outlining the personal consequences of these explosions. Our councilwoman Rebecca Feldman is working hard to provide you with the rationale for an urgent review of this problem. I would like to add their testimonials by also conveying a sense of urgency to ensure that JCP&L act quickly to identify a consultant approved by BPU, and that the terms of the review made public, as well as the timeline for the review. We are deeply concerned to have our personal safety at risk when walking or driving down South Street and I am sure this sense of insecurity will prevail until a thorough review and clear understanding of the cause of the explosions , and solutions, are presented to the residents and retailers of Morristown. We intend to follow this review and the outcomes very closely.
I thank you in advance for all that you are doing, and will do, to advance solutions to this ongoing problem of explosions of the manholes on South Street in Morristown.
Kindest Regards,
Siobhan Cavanaugh
Written comments may be submitted to the BPU via email to:
board.secretary@bpu.state.nj.us
or in writing to:
Kristi Izzo, Secretary of the Board
Board of Public Utilities
P.O. Box 350
Trenton, NJ 08625-0350
The BPU requests that comments reference Hurricane Irene in the subject line for emails and in the heading of
written correspondence. Comments will be accepted until Oct. 28, 2011. More hearings are anticipated.
