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NY/NJ baykeeper® * Hackensack riverkeeper® FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE CONTACT:
Andrew Willner, NY/NJ
Baykeeper, 732-888-9870; 732-768-4848 cell Capt.
Bill Sheehan, Hackensack Riverkeeper, 201-768-0808; 201-755-6466 cell Carter
H. Strickland, Jr., Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, 973-353-5695 DATE: Oct.
12, 2005 ENVIRONMENTAL
GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE NYS&W RAILROAD AND OTHER OPERATORS OVER
UNREGULATED WASTE SITES Lawsuit aims to shut down facilities NY/NJ Baykeeper and Hackensack
Riverkeeper have filed a lawsuit against New York Susquehanna and Western
Railway Corporation (NYS&W) and various hauling companies for their illegal
operation of five waste management facilities in North Bergen, New Jersey
serviced by NYS&W. The five active
waste management facilities are: ·
16th Street, North Bergen, Hudson
County, New Jersey 07047; ·
43rd Street, North Bergen, Hudson
County, New Jersey 07047; ·
94th Street, North Bergen, Hudson
County, New Jersey 07047; ·
2480 Secaucus Road, North Bergen, Hudson County,
New Jersey 07049; ·
5800 Westside Avenue, North Bergen
Twp, Hudson County, New Jersey, 07049. The citizen suit seeks to shut down these
unregulated solid waste facilities that are operating as open dumps and are
disposing of solid waste into the environment in violation of federal law. The railroad, as an owner and operator, and
the waste hauling companies as operators, are in violation of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which bans any solid waste management
practice constituting open dumping. An
open dump is any operation at which solid waste is handled in a way that allows
it to enter the environment, emit to the air, or discharge to water. At the first four NYS&W sites the
waste operations are occurring in open air and on bare ground without any
controls. Polluted stormwater runs off piles of waste, garbage is blown
into adjacent wetlands, piles of debris are piled perilously close to overhead
wires, and airborne pollutants are unchecked. Additionally, the 5800
Westside Avenue Facility receives, stores, and processes contaminated,
radioactive soils and other material but is not properly designed to control
dust and other air emissions. Andrew
Willner, NY/NJ Baykeeper said, “The railroad’s arrogance is
astounding. They think they are above the
law, above protecting public health, worker safety, and the environment.” He continued, “Anyone who has seen these
open dumps, knows them for what they are.
The railroad is failing to acknowledge the acute and extremely hazardous
pollution conditions at its facilities.
It is placing New Jersey’s communities and environment at risk.” “It is of grave concern to me that
the defendants have been subjecting the people and the environment of the
Meadowlands to the horrible impacts associated with these medieval operations,”
said Capt. Bill Sheehan, Hackensack
Riverkeeper. Sheehan continued, “I
am also astounded by the arrogance they have displayed in their refusal to
accept regulation by the NJDEP." The environmental groups issued a notice
of violations and intent to sue to notice letter on August 3, 2005. In August 2005, the State announced a
multi-agency task force to investigate the facilities, and the Department of
Environmental Protection issued a $2.5 million fine against the companies. Recently, the State issued a notice of
intent to sue against NYS&W under RCRA.
However, the businesses continue to operate in defiance of state
law. Additionally, Senators Lautenberg
and Corzine introduced federal legislation to close the loophole being exploited
by railroads to operated waste management stations outside of state and local
laws. The loophole is an ambiguous part
of an act to deregulate the railroad industry by consolidating jurisdiction
over rail operations before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB does not have jurisdiction, however,
over ancillary waste operations, or staff and authority to inspection stations,
thereby creating a regulatory void. |