For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
A federal appeals court reversed on Tuesday a lower court ruling that said a settlement deal between the state of New Jersey and the former owner of a Combe Fill South Landfill turned-Superfund site shielded the landfill’s owner from liability from reimbursing cleanup costs incurred by the U.S. government. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals said that the former owner remained on the hook for contributions toward the federal expenditures, rejecting arguments that under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, Liability Act (CERCLA) Carter’s settlement with New Jersey discharged it from both state- and federal-level liabilities.
“This is a significant win for cleaning up toxic sites in New Jersey. It’s critical that polluters are held accountable on both a state and federal level for the mess they made at the Combe Fill South Landfill. This ruling shows that states and the federal government have rights. This is especially important for New Jersey because we have the most Superfund sites in the country. The Combe Fill South Landfill site is in an environmentally sensitive area in the Highlands next to C1 streams and next to the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge. More importantly, the area provides drinking water for over 2 million people.,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Enforcement is one of the most important mechanisms of our government 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. Now that polluters are held liable, they need to do a real cleanup plan on the site. EPA’s plan to cap and pump contaminated groundwater at the site will only cause more problems for the town.”
The site was added to the EPA Superfund list in 1983. The original cleanup plan for the site included capping the landfill, installing a landfill gas collection system, pumping and treating the shallow groundwater beneath the site, and installing stormwater runoff controls. EPA’s final plan includes expanding and enhancing the existing groundwater treatment system that is currently operating at the site in addition to excavating and removing an area of materials that are contributing to the source of contamination including volatile organic compounds like 1,4 dioxane.
“It’s an important step in the right direction to make sure polluters are held responsible for their toxic mess, however this site needs a real cleanup plan. This site has been dangerous to human health for far too long. EPA’s plan to cap and pump contaminated groundwater at the site will only cause more problems for the town. Capping and pumping the contaminated groundwater is not a long term solution and only fail. This Superfund site is in an environmentally sensitive area in the Highlands next to C1 streams. Capping the site will only put more toxic chemicals into these streams. EPA need to go after and remove the contaminants instead,” said Tittel.
The 65-acre Combe Fill South Landfill, which sits in both Chester Township and Washington Township, was operational until 1981. The site is located in the NJ Highlands Region just north of the headwaters of Trout Brook, a Category 1 (C1) Trout Production Stream, and tributary to the Lamington River. Soil and groundwater beneath the site were contaminated by volatile organic compounds, which can have serious impacts on people’s health. About 170 people live within a half a mile of the landfill, and most use private wells as their source of drinking water, which were affected by the contamination.
“Chester township have suffered long enough from this toxic site, and will only suffer more with EPA’s final cleanup plan. During future floods, toxins could be washed into the Trout Brook and Lamington River. EPA must remove all of the VOCs removed from the system because institutional controls will not work here in the long term. In New Jersey, there has been flood after flood and it is only a matter of time before a storm happens again,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The EPA need to implement a complete cleanup plan. One that removes all of the contaminates instead of capping them. Storms are happing more frequently and in higher frequency and can wash out the cap. The people of Chester Township have been waiting over 30 years for a complete cleanup plan, it’s time they get one. It’s too important for the health of the public and the environments.”