NJ Puts Force Back Into Enforcement:

NRD Lawsuits and Enforcement Actions Making Polluters Pay

Attorney General Grewal and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver are announcing New Jersey’s efforts to collect Natural Resource Damages (NRD) at today’s press conference. They’ve announced three new NRD lawsuits and three enforcement actions. The press conference is taking place at 10:30am today on the corner of Horatio Street and Vincent Street in the Ironbound section of Newark.

“A new Administration can bring new progress. Seeing the Attorney General and DEP Commissioner take on polluters and stand up for the people of New Jersey is important for our state. For the first time in a decade, they’re putting some force back into enforcement. This is the first step to hold polluters and violators of environmental law accountable. Making polluters pay to clean up their mess is also critical to protect the health of our communities and natural resources,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Enforcing environmental laws and making polluters pay for their damage is critical because it acts as a deterrent. Stopping people from polluting or violating environmental laws is an important part of protecting the environment.”

One of the suits targets the The Pohatcong Valley Superfund Site in Warren County as well as two sites in Newark. The first is the Ronson Metals Corporation site while the second is the former home of Ruggerio Seafood, Inc. They are also targeting two sites in Woodbridge, Middlesex County including a former Hess refinery in Port Reading and a former Mobil gas station in Fords. Lastly, there’s Duell Fuel Company site in Atlantic City. This is a good start but there’s hundreds of other major sites that need to be targeted as well.

“Under Governor Christie, it was a polluters holiday. He did not file one NRD claim for the state of New Jersey. While campaigning, Governor Murphy made aggressively seeking NRD a priority and now the Attorney General Grewal is beginning to fulfill that promise. In New Jersey, if polluters spill chemicals and destroy natural resources, they not only have to clean-up the mess, but also compensate the public for loss of use. This is part of New Jersey’s Public Trust Doctrine that means natural resources belong to all of us,” said Jeff Tittel. “The people in these affected areas have been victimized twice: once by the pollution itself and then again by the failure of the state to go after with the problem through NRD.”

The Attorney General and Lt. Governor are also excited to announce new enforcement issues for New Jersey under the DEP. Based on NJDEP’s online database, total enforcement actions issued from 2008 to 2013, fell by 77 percent and site inspections have seen an 80 percent drop under Christie.

“The purpose of enforcement is to make sure that agencies and companies follow environmental laws and when they do not, they are held accountable. Enforcement is one of the most important mechanisms of the DEP to make sure our air is clean, water is pure and people don’t get away with dumping toxics into the environment. When there’s a cop on the beat, people are more likely to follow the law. Not only will enforcing NRD help the people and environment of New Jersey, but hopefully act as a deterrent for future contamination. There’s much more that needs to be done when it comes to enforcement within the DEP,” said Jeff Tittel. “It’s good that environmental enforcement is back in business but it should have always been a priority for New Jersey.”

Last Fall, New Jersey voters approved Ballot Question #2 to dedicate environmental settlement funds to environmental clean-ups. This will block future administrations from robbing the money meant for repairing, preserving, or restoring natural resources. In NJ, these resources are held in the Public Trust. If you spill chemicals and destroy them, you not only have to clean-up your mess, but also compensate the public for their loss. For example, they settled the $8.9 billion Exxon lawsuit for $225 million and took all but $50 million to balance this year’s budget.

“Thanks to the constitutional dedication voted on last November, all environmental settlement monies will be dedicated to their purpose. Instead of being stolen to plug budget holes like they were in the past, this funding must now be used to clean up the environment and help the communities affected by the contamination. Now the money will go towards restoring natural systems like wetlands and cleaning up communities, making them whole again,” said Jeff Tittel. “The Murphy Administration needs to be aggressively going after other polluters for Natural Resource Damages. This includes Ford Motor Company in Ringwood, White Chemical in Newark, Shieldalloy in Millville and the Passaic River, American Cyanamid site in Bridgewater and many more.”

There are important issues facing New Jersey and the DEP, especially when it comes to the environment. The agency must work to pursue NRD at New Jersey’s many contaminates sites. Too many of our communities are living with pollution and too many of our waterways and ecosystems are put at risk. We’d also like to see the DEP increase its budget and bring in more staff to  increase enforcement, especially of NRD suits and their clean-ups.

“We want to thank Attorney General Grewal, Commissioner McCabe and Governor Murphy for moving forward with pursing natural resources damages. The Christie Administration failed to pursue Natural Resource Damage settlements as a way to clean-up the environment and bring in revenue. We need the Murphy Administration to pursue more sites and help more communities by making the polluters pay. We also need to fix the system as a whole. Right now Senator Smith is holding a stakeholder process to examine how we can do a better job at NRD claims. We should go back and change the law to ensure that polluters pay for their damage,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Enforcement and NRD claims are a one-two punch to hold polluters accountable. More importantly, we can get more resources to protect and clean-up our environment and the public health of our citizens, especially those who’ve been victimized. This is a good first step but we need to do a lot more.”