Violation jeopardizes license to run junkyard
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD - - A local auto wrecker is being required to file plans for a waste containment pad by the end of the month or face the possibility of being shut down.

The Borough Council held a special meeting Jan. 29 to discuss what to do about Giancola Auto Wreckers & Auto Sales, Manalapan Road, which was found to be in violation of state stormwater discharge regulations. In November, the state Department of Environmental Protection inspected the junkyard and found it did not have adequate means to contain hazardous waste from its car crushing operation.

The council resolved to grant the business, also known as Big A Auto Wreckers, a 60-day temporary license, but stipulated that owners Perry and Fernando Giancola had two weeks to submit a minor site plan for construction of containment pads. The Giancolas' attorney later requested that they be given two more weeks to submit the plan, and the borough granted that request.

No representative of the Giancola business attended the meeting, according to Council President Curtis Stollen, and the council heard testimony from members of the public and from the borough's code enforcement officer regarding the DEP report.

Stollen said the concrete pads are necessary to contain any spillage of hazardous waste from vehicles being crushed. Among the possible materials that could leak out are oil, anti freeze and mercury lead.

"They all have to be contained," he said.

The containment area would have sides to keep the material from reaching the ground.

Stollen noted that Cedar Brook is in the area of the junkyard and must be protected from contaminants. There is a high water table in the area, and water runoff goes into the brook.

"It's a health and safety issue," Stollen said.

The containment requires a canopy so that rain water does not mix with the hazardous materials.

This isn't the first time Giancola and the borough have locked horns. At one point, Giancola successfully sued the borough over limitations on business functions. The borough is now suing Giancola regarding the environmental testing of borough-owned land near the business. The suit contends that Giancola must address contamination allegedly caused by a car-crusher that was on borough property at one time.

Stollen said the lawsuit has nothing to do with the council's decision to require the containment.

"This is about his license to operate a junkyard," he said.

The council's resolution states that until Giancola obtains approval for the concrete pad and completes its installation, the business cannot operate an automobile crusher on the premises. The business was also required to enclose the junkyard portion of the site with a fence.

A Giancola representative could not be reached for comment for this story.