Menendez Announces EPA Investigation of Illegal Trash Dumps in New Jersey
Jersey City, NJ – U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) today announced that inspection teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have recently visited garbage dumps being operated alongside the New York Susquehanna and Western (NYS&W) rail line in North Bergen. The EPA’s action came in response to a letter Menendez and U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) sent to the EPA in May calling for investigations into the sites. For Immediate Release
October 4, 2005
Contact: Matthew Miller, 202-226-3210; Desiree Ramos, 201-222-2828

Menendez Announces EPA Investigation of Illegal Trash Dumps in New Jersey
Jersey City, NJ – U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) today announced that inspection teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have recently visited garbage dumps being operated alongside the New York Susquehanna and Western (NYS&W) rail line in North Bergen. The EPA’s action came in response to a letter Menendez and U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) sent to the EPA in May calling for investigations into the sites.

“These illegal dumps are putting New Jersey families at risk,� Menendez said. “The railroads operating them are flaunting New Jersey law and threatening the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink.

“I’m disappointed that the EPA took so long to respond to my letter urging an investigation,� he continued. “New Jersey families cannot afford any further delay. Now that they’ve begun an investigation, the EPA needs to act quickly to close these illegal and dangerous dumps.�

In the past months, numerous reports have surfaced of railroads operating dangerous waste transfer facilities along railroads, often in contravention of state and local environmental laws. Multiple dumps are now being operated in North Bergen, and railroads are attempting to build them in the Pinelands and the City of Paterson.

The State of New Jersey recently fined NYS&W $2.5 million for operating the North Bergen sites, but the railroad has refused to pay. Because of a loophole in federal law, railroads claim that the Surface Transportation Board has exclusive jurisdiction over railroad activities, exempting the railroads from all state and local regulations regarding the handling of solid waste. On July 28th, Menendez introduced legislation to make it clear that state and local authorities have the authority to regulate dumps operated by railroads.

A copy of the letter Menendez and Pascrell sent to the EPA on May 26 is below:

May 26, 2005

The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Johnson:

We are writing to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate solid waste transfer facilities that are being operated in contravention of State and local environmental law. Due to a loophole in federal law, families in New Jersey are being put needlessly at risk to airborne pollutants and dirty water, and unless action is taken quickly, this problem threatens to spread.

Solid waste facilities are normally required to obtain permits issued by State and local authorities, and comply with all relevant local laws concerning the storage and disposal of solid waste. However, when a company seeks to operate a solid waste transfer facility along a railroad right-of-way, it invokes the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB’s) “preemption� clause (49 USC 10501(b)) to claim an exemption from those local laws.

As a result, a number of solid waste transfer facilities are being operated by a private entity in North Bergen, New Jersey, without zoning approval and without being covered by the local solid waste management plan. The massive debris piles at these sites are exposed to the elements, where wind blows trash and dirt into the community, and rain carries pollutants into local wetlands. These sites thumb their noses at the stringent solid waste regulations enacted by the State of New Jersey to protect the health and welfare of its citizens.

The State has been taking steps to try and exert some authority over the operation of the sites, but the process is moving slowly, and recent newspaper articles in the Herald News and Atlantic City Press indicate that new sites are being planned for the City of Paterson and Atlantic County. Potential operators of these sites can not be allowed to think they can recklessly damage the environment just because they’re located on a rail line.

Although regulating solid waste is a local responsibility, our localities are being blocked by federal law from doing anything about this situation. We believe it is therefore the federal government’s responsibility, through EPA, to investigate these sites and makes sure they’re being operated in an environmentally responsible manner.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

_____________________________ ____________________________
Robert Menendez Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress