DEP Sues Cumberland County Facilities

A Vineland gas station and one in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, are included in the latest environmental enforcement actions by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in communities considered overburdened under New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law. The latest lawsuits charge failure to abide by environmental obligations set forth in prior administrative orders.

At US Gas, 903 E. Chestnut Avenue, gasoline contamination was first discovered in 1997 on the property and underground storage tanks (USTs) owned by Ross Fogg Fuel Oil Co. After Arshi purchased the property a few years later, a second discharge of gasoline from the USTs occurred.

Ross Fogg Fuel Oil Co. and Arshi have failed to remediate the contamination from both discharges. DEP is suing to compel Arshi and Ross Fogg Fuel Oil to clean up the property, as well as any contamination spread off-site from the property, and to pay penalties associated with their failure to perform the remediation. 

DEP first became aware of contamination at Johnny’s Atlantic, 159 Bridgeton Fairton Road in Fairfield Township in January 2000, when soil analysis conducted during the removal of nine petroleum USTs revealed that gasoline had leaked.

DEP advised the service station owner at the time, Howard Henigan, that the Spill Act required him to take action to remediate the contaminated soil, which he began, but did not complete. Henigan sold the property to Wayne Griner in 2016, with the soil still contaminated. DEP is asking the court to compel Griner to remediate the property, pay past-due fees, and pay civil penalties.

“The DEP remains committed to ensuring that those who have created an environmental injustice in overburdened neighborhoods, posing risks to human and animal health, are held accountable,” said Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “Low-income and minority communities have long borne the brunt of these injustices.”

Including these recent complaints, the Office of the Attorney General and DEP have filed 80 civil environmental enforcement actions in overburdened communities since 2018, under the Murphy Administration. More than three dozen have settled or resulted in favorable court judgements, obtaining more than $31 million in monetary damages and penalties for the state. Most of the remaining actions remain in pending litigation.