‘We are demanding our money back,’ says Attorney General when announcing lawsuits for cleanup and restoration
Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:
For the first time in 10 years, the state is filing suit against polluters to have them pay to restore New Jersey’s natural resources, an important environmental tool that averts using taxpayer dollars to clean up contaminated groundwater, wetlands, and other sites.
The administration of Gov. Phil Murphy yesterday filed three Natural Resource Damage lawsuits, signaling an aggressive new effort to not only clean up the thousands of contaminated sites in New Jersey, but also to restore natural areas harmed by spills, illegal dumping, and other activities.
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“Today, we are demanding our money back,’’ said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, on an empty lot in Newark’s Ironbound section, near a housing development built on top of a former manufacturer of cigarette lighters. It polluted soil and groundwater at the site, and vapors from the contaminants are now seeping into nearby homes.
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In this case, the state is seeking to recover the costs it incurred in cleaning up the soil, and the vapor-mitigation systems it installed to prevent dangerous vapors from entering the homes. Two other cost-recovery lawsuits also were filed by the Attorney General.
“We are going to hold polluters accountable — no matter how big, no matter how powerful, no matter how long they’ve been getting away with it,’’ Grewal said. “And we’re sending a message to every company across the state: If you pollute our natural resources, we are going to make you pay.’’
NRD lawsuits have been used in the past to restore numerous resources in the state, including not far away from yesterday’s press conference where a previous settlement has provided $23 million to create and expand a riverfront park on the Passaic River, according to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe.
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