NJ Files NRD Suits in South Jersey & Bergen County  

Today, Attorney General Grubrir Grewal and Commissioner Catherine McCabe announced the filing of two new Natural Resource (NRD) lawsuits today. One against the Sherwin Williams Company and the other against Handy & Harman Electronics Materials Corporation.  The complaint against Sherwin Williams arises out of the company’s operations at sites in Gibbsboro, Voorhees Township and Lindenwold in Camden County. The State alleges that Sherwin Williams manufactured oil-based paints, lacquers and varnishes, and in the process discharged industrial wastes into the ground, into nearby Hilliards Creek and into other surrounding creeks and lakes. As part of its operations, the company used and stored thousands of gallons of hazardous materials such as lead oxide, zinc oxide, lead chromate, and sulfuric acid.

“Sherwin Williams has created a mess in all of South Jersey and especially a toxic nightmare in Gibbsboro.  Now with the recent NRD suit filed, they have to clean up and pay for the damages to the resources that belong to all of us.  If we allow lead and arsenic to stay in the ground it will impact drinking water, streams and even worse vapors from the contamination will end up in homes. Arsenic is carcinogenic and lead exposure can have serious impacts adults and children. Lead exposure in children can cause reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention spans, and other behavioral problems,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “It’s good that New Jersey will finally be going after Sherwin Williams for NRD. It is important to make polluters not only clean up their mess but pay for the damages they have done to our environment.”

Hilliards Creek flows into Kirkwood Lake in Voorhees Township. According to EPA officials, it is estimated Kirkwood will potentially not be addressed for another eight years as cleanup efforts are focused upstream along Hilliards. The latter funnels into various other bodies of water, such as Kirkwood and Silver lakes.

“The people of Gibbsboro have experienced a triple threat to the environment right in their backyards. There is contamination from United States Avenue Burn site, the Route 561 Dump site, and the Sherwin-Williams site. This is a huge public health risk, especially because these clean-ups aren’t going far enough. The EPA is proposing an asphalt cap for two of the sites, which will only cover up some of the hazardous materials. According to scientific studies, these types of controls will fail and will leach into the groundwater. Caps can be cracked and destroyed by buildings or sewer lines; unleashing toxic materials and gases. The arsenic and lead found here can easily leach from the contaminated site and end up in our drinking water, especially into the creek nearby,” said Tittel.

The complaint against Handy & Harman arises out of its operations in its facility in Montvale, Bergen County in the 1980s. The complaint alleges that during Handy & Harman’s ownership, hazardous substances including the chemical TCE (trichloroethylene), were discharged on the property, resulting in the contamination of groundwater and the closure of nearby drinking water wells.

“It’s good that New Jersey is going after polluters to protect our environment and public health. Handy & Harman’s have impacted critical drinking water in Bergen County and they need to be held accountable. It is critical that Attorney General Grewal and Commissioner McCabe has stepped up and will make sure these companies will clean up their mess. TCE and PCE are carcinogens that cause birth defects and respiratory problems, the fact that this harmful chemical has been contaminating groundwater is a serious issue. They need to not only clean up their mess, but compensate for the damages to the environment and our drinking water,” said Tittel. “This lawsuit is a critical step in the battle to going after these dangerous chemicals that have been dumped.”

Today’s NRD lawsuits mark another step in Attorney General Grewal and Commissioner McCabe’s efforts to revitalize New Jersey’s environmental enforcement program. After eight years in which the State did not file any new NRD actions, the State has now filed 12 NRD actions in two years. In 2019 alone, the State filed eight such actions, including the two filed today.

“We thank the Attorney General Grewal and DEP Commissioner McCabe for putting the force back into enforcement. After 8 years of no action, we need to use enforcement as a deterrent and hold companies accountable. Now New Jersey needs to move forward in making sure these companies pay for the damages they have done to our environment and clean it up. It’s too important for the health and safety of these communities, said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.