DEP fines landfill $70K for violations Closed portion of landfill said to have polluted the Raritan BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer The state has fined Edgeboro Disposal Inc. in East Brunswick $70,000 after investigating an environmental group's claim that the landfill was polluting the Raritan River. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the fines Nov. 15, about one month after the Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) filed a notice of intent to sue the landfill owner for what was described as the unchecked discharge of solid waste into the river. The discharge is said to come from the portion of the landfill that has been closed since 1987. EWA Executive Director Robert Spiegel said the issuance of these penalties is "a good first step." "Edgeboro Disposal Inc. has been treating the Raritan River like its own private garbage can, instead of the resource that it is," Spiegel said, noting that he would like to see daily fines issued by the DEP until the issues are resolved at the landfill. Attempts to reach Edgeboro Disposal for comment have been unsuccessful. The company operated the landfill from 1954 to 1987, and the Middlesex County Utilities Authority then began leasing the portion of the property that became the Middlesex County Landfill in 1988. The county's portion of the landfill, which receives about 60,000 tons of waste every month, is not being charged with violations. The DEP responded to Edison Wetlands' claims last month by saying it was aware of the problems and would attempt to resolve them in a short period of time. DEP representatives went out to the Edgeboro landfill site Oct. 23 for a compliance evaluation and determined that EDI failed to comply with various requirements, DEP spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas said Monday. "We just assessed these penalties last week, and I'm certain that our monitoring for compliance will be ongoing," Yuhas said. The DEP fines are $35,000 for violations of the Solid Waste Management Act and $35,000 for violations of the Water Pollution Control Act. The administrative order mandated EDI to immediately remedy the situation. Spiegel said the DEP has long been aware of the violations, but did not enforce the cleanup or containment of the waste discharge. While the violations listed on the DEP's administrative order and notice of civil administrative penalty assessment match those listed in EWA's notice of intent, according to Spiegel, the group still plans to go forth with litigation against EDI. The lawsuit will contend that the landfill owner, despite agreeing to DEP demands for cleanup in 1995 and later submitting plans for that work, failed to properly cover, contain, clean up and prevent discharge of solid waste into the Raritan River. "We will continue to monitor this site to ensure that the NJDEP orders to protect the river are followed, so the Raritan River can one day be restored as a proud, scenic centerpiece for the people of Middlesex County," Spiegel said.