Wilenta Feed, a Secaucus business that converts food waste into animal feed, and Gas Mart, a defunct gas station in Jersey City, are getting sued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection due to safety concerns.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Today’s filings represent the latest action in the Murphy Administration’s initiative to right past environmental wrongs that were committed in environmentally stressed neighborhoods,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement.
“Contaminated, abandoned, and neglected properties are a blight, and I am proud to have so many partners across the State who stand with me on this and recognize that we must force these violators to repair environmental damages and abide by our laws and regulations.”
In late 2022, Wilenta Feed agreed to the entry of a judicial consent order (JCO) and further agreed to implement stormwater best management practices and pay penalties to resolve a previous DEP complaint.
The earlier complaint alleged, among other things, that Wilenta Feed allowed polluted water from its food waste storage and processing operation to flow into the storm sewer system and, ultimately, to New Jersey’s surface waters in violation of the Water Pollution Control Act (WPCA).
However, Wilenta has repeatedly violated the terms of the JCO and has stopped paying the $140,000 penalty imposed in the JCO.
Now, the State is suing a second time because Wilenta Feed refuses to comply with the JCO to stop dumping excess food waste outside of its permitted indoor storage facility and transferring liquified food waste from its on-site stormwater detention basin directly into an off-site Secaucus stormwater drain.
This stormwater system flows directly into the nearby Penhorn Creek and the biological matter could introduce pathogens to the creek and deplete oxygen, which harms other life in the creek, officials contend.
As a result, the DEP seeks to compel Wilenta Feed to comply with the JCO, as well as seeking sanctions for its willful non-compliance sufficient to offset any economic gains it received from its illegal activity.
This complaint alleges that defendants Kennedy 1658 Realty Associates and Fidelity Builders Inc., the owners of the Gas Mart, have failed to remediate soil and groundwater contamination.
In 2007, gasoline contamination was discovered in the soil surrounding underground storage tanks that were operated by Fidelity Builders. Monitoring wells were installed and identified gasoline contamination above groundwater quality standards.
Gasoline and its components pose threats to the environment and public health when they enter the soil and the groundwater.
Despite a legal obligation to remediate this contamination, current property owner Kennedy 1658 Realty Associates and Fidelity Builders have failed to do so, so the DEP sued to enforce defendants’ cleanup obligations.
In 2019, that suit was resolved with an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), which required both firms to retain a Licensed Site Remediation Professional, properly remediate the Site, and pay an administrative penalty.
However, the firms have not complied with the ACO. DEP is suing to compel the defendants to fully remediate gasoline contamination at the site as set forth in the ACO and pay penalties ordered by the Court.
“Enforcement actions like these embody our steadfast commitment to protecting vulnerable communities and make clear the consequences for creating or contributing to environmental injustice,” added DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.
“My DEP colleagues and I thank Attorney General Platkin for his partnership in using all available legal tools to remedy these problem sites and hold polluters accountable.”
The DEP also announced filed enforcement actions related to the PC Shell in Vorhees, PM Equities in Pennsauken, Chatsworth Deli in Woodland Township, and Hidden Mills Associates in Gloucester Township.
