A group of environmental activists gathered in South Camden on Thursday to call on the city, county and state to finally remove a pile of toxic dirt, illegally dumped and high-rise.
The day before, the mayor, answering the question of the “Courier-mail” about the pile at another event dedicated to the illegal dump, said that measures will be taken by the end of the year.
“There has been no movement on this issue, and it has been going on for nine years,” said Roy Jones, a resident of Camden who heads the National Institute for Healthy Man.
“Last September, they said the same thing that will soon be cleared, and here we are, six months later, and the toxic pile has not been moved.”
Speaking about Mayor Vic Karstarfen’s remarks about the pile the day before, Jones replied: “We’re not sure it’s like moving the ball down.”
Jones said an Amus statement was filed in February, “to make sure the community’s problems are addressed and its interests protected.”
At a press conference on Wednesday Fr. efforts to combat illegal landfillsCamden Public Works Director Keith Walker said the city has made progress in clearing the pile and bringing offenders to justice.
In the courts:State AG lawsuits target alleged polluters in Camden, Bridget, Vineland
“We are working with the New Jersey Department of the Environment, the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and the EDA (New Jersey Economic Development Agency) to restore and remove,” Walker said Wednesday. “Progress is definitely there.”
Karstarfen called the progress “extremely encouraging”, adding that he was optimistic that the city would receive about $ 5 million needed to clean up the site, which the state claims includes dangerous carcinogens.
“I think you will see action there soon,” the mayor said. “I feel good and I’m sure it will be by the end of this year.”
Long-term problem:The encroachment on waste threatens Camden’s home and the health of residents, the state says
Materials on the site cannot simply be loaded onto trucks and moved, Walker noted. Workers will need protective equipment, and precautions must be taken to ensure that dust and carcinogens do not enter the area after the start of removal.
In June 2021, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said that property owners where the pile is located “have not complied with environmental laws and regulations for decades that continue to expose the Camden community to pollution and other hazards to the environment and public health.”
Defendants – S. Yaffa & Sons Inc .; William Yoko; Charles Jaffa; Weyhill Realty Holdings Inc .; XYZ and several John and / or Jane Does corporations “illegally imported and stored solid waste on their property in Camden,” according to a state lawsuit, “including contaminated filling materials, construction debris and demolition waste, and used tires ”.
The alleged illegal dumps and other actions at the site, the complaint said, continue, “despite … repeated administrative efforts, including numerous reports of violations and the agency’s final order to enforce them.”
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The Attorney General’s complaint says the DEP began inspecting the facility in 2002 and has since found “numerous repeated violations.” The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals, known carcinogens that can cause liver, kidney and other cancers, is also noted.
Jones on Thursday rejected the city’s claim that he needed to provide funding to clean up the area on 7th and Chestnut Streets.
“All this talk is about money to clean up the site – the city has millions of dollars in funds from the American Restoration Act to combat environmental rehabilitation and community development. There’s a lot of money to deal with that.”
Neighbors are tired of waiting, he said, and are concerned about health hazards in their backyard.
“Delay in justice is a denial of justice,” he said. “You have no idea what it’s like to live near a pile of toxic waste for nine years.”
Phaedra Tretan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden and surrounding areas since 2015, focusing on quality of life and social justice issues for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Since 1971, it has been called home to South Jersey. Contact her for reviews, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.comon Twitter @By_Phaedra or by phone 856.486-2417.
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