| TRENTON
– Attorney General Zulima V. Farber
today filed suit on behalf of the Department
of Environmental Protection against the
owners and operators of an unlicensed wood
waste recycling facility in Colts Neck,
which poses a fire hazard and has encroached
on a stream and wetlands.
The
state filed suit in Superior Court in Monmouth
County against Becker's Tree Service and
Steven Becker for operating the unlicensed
solid waste facility at 40 Squankum Road
in Colts Neck, where tree parts from the
tree service’s operations are dumped
and processed by cutting, chipping and grinding.
The state’s complaint also names the
owners of the site, Wayne Pomanowski and
First United Investment.
“The
owners and operators of this site have shown
a complete disregard for state law, the
environment and the safety of their neighbors,”
said Attorney General Farber. “We
have brought this action to clean up this
site and enforce DEP regulations prohibiting
such facilities from operating without a
permit.”
“Through
its many years of operating an unauthorized
waste business, Becker’s Tree Service
consistently showed contempt for the DEP's
authority,” DEP Commissioner Lisa
P. Jackson said. “They compromised
public safety and created an unsafe environment
with their shoddy operations, which we find
unacceptable.”
The
state seeks injunctive relief to stop the
defendants' continuous violations of the
Solid Waste Management Act, the Freshwater
Wetlands Protection Act, and the Flood Hazard
Area Control Act. Despite the issuance of
repeated notices of violation since 1998,
the facility continues to accumulate recyclable
material, including tree stumps, tree limbs,
leaves, tree branches and other brush material,
which constitute a fire hazard. There are
between 30,000 and 50,000 cubic yards of
unprocessed tree waste mixed with soil at
the site. The facility does not have a Class
B recycling center approval as required
by DEP regulations for conducting such operations.
The
facility is located near homes and the Earle
Naval Weapons Station. A report by a fire
safety expert submitted to the court indicates
that operations on the site do not meet
fire safety or insurance industry standards.
Wood waste at the site caught fire on September
19, 2004, and the fire smoldered for several
days before it was put out.
The
state’s complaint also alleges unauthorized
filling of freshwater wetlands and the dumping
of large amounts of construction debris
in a stream on the site.
The
state seeks a preliminary injunction stopping
the flow of waste or recyclable material
into the facility and requiring the clean-up
of the site, in accordance with a DEP-approved
plan, including remediation of the wetlands
and floodway. The state also seeks to compel
defendants to clear the entrances and exits
to the site so that emergency vehicles can
enter the site to reduce the risk that a
second fire will break out and burn out
of control. In addition, the suit seeks
civil monetary penalties and reimbursement
of the costs of the state’s investigation
and enforcement action.
Deputy
Attorneys General Tirza S. Wahrman, Daniel
A. Greenhouse and Harley Williams filed
the suit for the Attorney General.
>>
Becker
Tree Complaint (462k pdf) plug-in
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