Landfill to be sued over river pollution Group claims owner failed to clean, prevent discharge into Raritan BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer An environmental group is expected to sue the Edgeboro Landfill in East Brunswick on charges it has polluted the Raritan River over several decades. The Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) filed notice-of-intent papers Oct. 16 in state Superior Court. The nonprofit group's attorney, Judith Weinstock, cited a variety of violations on the part of Edgeboro Disposal Inc. (EDI), owner of the closed portion of the landfill, stating that it failed to properly cover, contain, clean up and prevent discharge of solid waste into the Raritan River. "Edison Wetlands has been fighting for over a decade to get this site cleaned up, but Edgeboro Disposal continues to use the Raritan River as an open garbage dump in an area where people boat, children swim, and many locals crab and fish for subsistence," said EWA Executive Director Robert Spiegel. The EWA also contends that the state and county have failed to have the owner clean the site in a timely fashion. "We have no confidence or faith that the county is going to do the right thing, we have no faith that the DEP [state Department of Environmental Protection] is going to enforce it, and we have no faith that Edgeboro is going to do the cleanup," Spiegel said. In 1995, EDI agreed to DEP demands that it clean up the site, and in 1998 an Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) was executed by the DEP, EDI, Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA) and Middlesex County. The ADR placed responsibility on EDI to clean and restore about 4,000 feet of shoreline in what are known as areas three and four of the landfill. While EDI submitted plans for the work to the DEP, these plans were never executed. The DEP has been aware of the issue for years, according to Spiegel, but has failed to enforce the restoration process. EWA will go forward with the litigation within 30 days. "Unfortunately, enforcement in the NJDEP is very weak," Spiegel said. Wolf Skacel, DEP commissioner for compliance and enforcement, said however that EDI has applied for permits for the cleanup, and action has been taken by the DEP to address the issue. He would not say what steps were being taken by the DEP in terms of enforcing the cleanup. "[The DEP] certainly has, and is, doing something to address the concerns of the Edison Wetlands folks," Skacel said. "We agree that it's a problem, and we want it to be resolved as promptly as possible. We think that in a short period of time, these issues will be resolved." Jack Whitman, president of EDI, could not be reached for comment. Although there is still dumping going on in other areas of the landfill, Spiegel said the main points of concern are in areas three and four. He said the waste there is harmful to native wildlife, which includes bald eagles, seals and striped bass. "This landfill has a very long and very sordid history," Spiegel said. EDI owned and operated the landfill from 1954-87. The MCUA then began leasing the portion of the property that became the Middlesex County Landfill in 1988. The sections of the landfill that are the subject of the pending lawsuit are still owned by EDI, which is solely responsible for the cleanup of those sites, said Tony Cicatiello, MCUA spokesman. He said one role of the MCUA is to improve water quality, and that during the agency's 50 years of existence, the quality of the water in the Raritan River has become significantly better. The resurgence of clamming as a significant industry in the state because of clamming beds making a comeback provides evidence of this, according to Cicatiello. The MCUA's extensive program for managing and monitoring the landfill it operates is extremely sensitive to the environment, and it has won awards for this, Cicatiello said, adding that the lining in place at the site prevents any waste from making its way into the river. The Middlesex County Landfill serves mostly Middlesex County residents and businesses, but also takes in waste from parts of Union and Somerset counties. On average, the landfill receives about 60,000 tons of waste every month, according to Rich Fitamant, executive director of the MCUA. While the county's landfill is situated next to EDI's old site, the county portion has remained in compliance with all DEP regulations, Fitamant said. "The process is moving along, and I understand that there are now some permitting issues to be resolved, and once these are taken care of, the cleanup should begin," Fitamant said. According to Spiegel, EDI has appealed in order to stall the process every time the cleanup was supposed to begin. "We want to make sure they know, this is a situation that just cannot be allowed to continue," Spiegel said.