Magic Disposal Company to pay
$700,000 penalty
Permit revoked, fines due
A shuttered solid-waste facility with a history
of running afoul of state environmental laws must pay $700,000 for persistent
violations its owner could have easily corrected, New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection Commissioner, Lisa P. Jackson, announced.
Upholding an administrative court judge’s initial ruling, Commissioner
Jackson decided Magic Disposal Company Inc. should be held responsible for
the full penalty the DEP had imposed for chronic disregard of its permit
to operate a materials recovery facility on Ridge and Jefferson avenues in
Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County.
From February 2002 through December 2004, Magic Disposal repeatedly violated
its solid-waste permit by bringing in far more waste than allowed and by
storing and processing waste outside of its building.
Tons of waste routinely piled in front of Magic Disposal’s facility.
The property attracted rats and other vermin and created health and safety
hazards.
In addition, Magic Disposal failed to clear its floors of waste every 24
hours, risking the possibility of fires sparked by a residual buildup of
heat within certain waste materials.
Further, Magic Disposal degraded air quality by failing to use its air-pollution-control
equipment during operating hours, and failed to maintain adequate wastewater
control, which caused polluted water to pond in the facility.
During frequent visits to the facility, inspectors with the DEP and the Atlantic
County Health Department issued citations for numerous environmental violations.
Magic Disposal’s owner and operator, Steve Waszen, however, continued
to resist inspectors’ efforts to bring the facility into compliance.
In January 2005, the DEP revoked Magic Disposal’s permit, and a month
later issued the $700,000 in an administrative order. Magic Disposal appealed
the DEP enforcement action, and the case was heard before Administrative
Law Judge W. Todd Miller.
In recently rendering his initial decision, Judge Miller noted that Magic
Disposal could have easily rectified its mounting environmental violations
by controlling and limiting its daily solid-waste intake, installing moveable
barriers and confining its operations to state-approved areas on-site. |
