On April 25, 2012 OSCs Tabayoyong and Banner responded to Rutgers Busch Campus to meet with Environmental Health and Safety and Facilities personnel. Middlesex County Health Department was coincidentally also on-scene, acting on authority of NJDEP, due to receiving an anonymous tip on April 9, 2012 of a biocide spill (NJDEP Incident # 421675).

EPA OSCs inspected the building where the air conditioning cooling system was located. On October 28, 2011 an internal failure (float valve) of the system caused a minimum release of 3,500 gallons of cooling water containing biocides. The material spilled onto the roof of the structure where it ran into the stormwater system. Materials released to the stormwater system are captured and carried underground to an open creek located on the Busch Campus. This is the path the release followed. From the open creek, the cooling water passed underground to a retention pond located at the golf course on campus. The retention pond has an overflow cell, to which the material flowed into. An inspection by Rutgers personnel following the incident indicated stressed vegetation around the retention pond, most likely due to contact with the cooling water as residual byproducts could be seen.

The overflow water then moved via underground piping, under Johnson Park, and into the Raritan River. The amount of cooling water released is unknown because the system continued to send mechanical signals that additional cooling water (and biocides) was needed. It is unknown when the system initially failed because the release was not noticed until people complained about an odor coming from a stormwater grate.

On March 21, 2012 an additional release occurred with the same unit, due to operator error. New personnel were conducting routine maintenance on the cooling system when they accidentally released the entire 3,500 gallon contents to the stormwater system instead of the sanitary sewer system. The cooling water followed the same path as described above, however it did not overflow outside of the retention pond and did not make it to the Raritan River. NJDEP was notified of the release and the water program visited the building shortly following. A Notice of Violation was submitted to Rutgers on April 24, 2012 by NJDEP due to violations associated with discharging material outside of permitted allowances.

The biocide is maintained in the basement of the building with no alarm to indicate any unusual use.

Following the March 2012 release, Rutgers has performed a number of changes on the cooling system. New piping has been permanently installed so that any release from the system will go to the sanitary sewer system and not the stormwater system. The internal float was removed and replaced by a more advanced mechanism. 

In light of the actions taken in reponse to the two releases - the results of which were observed by EPA on April 25, 2012 - it has been determined that no further action is warranted or anticipated.