Date : Wed, 6 Aug 2014 10:24:04 -0400
For Immediate Release
July 28, 2014
Contact Jeff Tittel 609-558-9100
Taking the Fenimore Fight to Trenton
"Since the Governor and DEP will not go to Roxbury to meet with the people we are bringing the people of Roxbury to Trenton. We are here in front of this billboard today to remind DEP Commissioner Martin and Governor Christie of what they have done to this community. They have taken what once was a wonderful community and a great place to raise your family and have turned it into a toxic nightmare. They have played politics with the lives of the people of Roxbury and have destroyed their community."
"This is because of Governor Christie's anti environmental agenda. It started out with Executive Order 2 which has weakened environmental protections to rules that are not stricter than the federal rules. It is the DEP allowing them to reopen the landfill filling it with wall board which has caused the problems in order to then supposedly close the landfill. It is DEP's refusal to properly clean the site and remove all the waste. The DEP plan only calls for capping a third of the site what about the rest of it? The only thing that smells worse than a landfill is the putrid stench of our government siding with polluters over people's health.
"Instead of cleaning up the landfill Governor Christie's political cronies are cleaning up with tax payers dollars. They are not actually cleaning the site they are just capping the site allowing the nightmare to continue. The only thing they are actually covering up is what has happened at the site. The Fenimore landfill from the beginning has been political double dealings and filthy tricks. The only thing dirtier than this landfill has been all the dirty deals between Governor Christie and his buddies."
"Ever since the DEP took control of the Fenimore Landfill things have been getting worse. Now with this current capping we believe this plan will not work because landfills are not stable and caps will always fail at some point. Capping the site is the easiest and cheapest way to deal with the site, not the type of closure that will actually work. This site will be spewing noxious odors for the next 20 years unless the correct action is taken now. The cap will fail and the nightmare will continue. Instead we believe the DEP should require the removal of all construction debris especially the wall board and other materials that are giving off the hydrogen sulfide smell. The only real cleanup plan is to remove the material and ship it to an appropriate landfill. These materials should not be capped, but taken off site for proper disposal."
"Hydrogen sulfide does cause health problems. The levels at the site are many times above the health standard and people in the area have had problems. We believe this site has become a health emergency and immediate action needs to be taken to remove the debris from the site. DEP has become the Department of Denying and Excusing Pollution."
"The people of Roxbury have seen their environment ruined and health threatened. Instead of helping the people of Roxbury and fixing the problem, the Christie Administration continues to help his political buddies. Not only did they choose a politically connected firm, but they are spending 20% more than what they said it was going to cost. We are spending more money to not actually clean the site up. Instead this site needs to be closed, fully cleaned up and capped to protect the people of Roxbury. This billboard will be a reminder everyday for what the Christie Administration has done to the people of Roxbury. We hope that this will lead to changes, but we doubt it. At least the people finally have a voice in front of the DEP building since they do not have a voice inside," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
-- Nicole Dallara, Outreach Coordinator New Jersey Sierra Club 145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618 609-656-7612 https://www.facebook.com/NJSierraClub https://twitter.com/nicdalla3