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Politics & Government

Summit Council President Responds to Pollution Suit

The NJDEP filed suit against 9 companies in 2005, for their toxic pollution of the Passaic River from 1951-1969, and failure to properly cleanup its waters.

At a , Summit's Common Council rejected the Litigation Plan and Legal Services Budget for the NJDEP V. OCCIDENTAL Litigation (Docket ESX-L-9869-05 PASR) presented by the Joint Meeting Sewer Authority's legal counsel. 

The NJDEP filed suit against 9 companies in 2005, for their toxic pollution of the Passaic River from 1951-1969, and failure to properly cleanup its waters.

In their 2009 countersuit, defendants Maxus and Tierra countersued over 300 other public and private entities, including 72 Municipalities and 6 Sewage Authorities to dilute their liability, claiming prior pollution.

Defendants are now represented by 202 law firms. Estimated damages could exceed $15 Billion plus legal fees of $5 Billion if the Governor and Legislature do not intervene to indemnify the municipalities or reduce the scope of the case. 

The Joint Meeting Litigation Plan covers a period of 26-29 months from now at an estimated legal cost of $21M to its eleven voting owners since 1894: Millburn, Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, East Orange, Newark, Irvington, Union, Hillside, Roselle Park and Summit, and non-voting member Elizabeth.

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At this time, Summit is not aware of the decisions of the other ten Joint Meeting Members.

New Jersey needs strong leadership in this unprecedented court matter that could cripple the 72 communities forever. The Governor and Legislature's failure to act could result in reckless property tax increases and a debilitating corporate backlash in New Jersey. 

cc: Governor Christie      Senator Kean      Assemblyman Bramnick      Assemblywoman Munoz       Congressman Leonard Lance

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Editor's Note: Here are the legal details of the case provided to the press by the Summit Common Council.

   NJDEP V. OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL Docket No. ESX-L-9868-05 (PASR)

 

SCOPE: NJDEP filed an environmental cleanup suit in the State Superior Court of Essex County in 2005, under the Spill and Water Pollution Acts of 1976, against 9 companies and their predecessors for the intentional discharge of toxic chemicals from Newark’s Diamond Alkali Plant that manufactured herbicides, including Agent Orange and DDT, from 1951 until closing in 1969, and their negligent failure to properly cleanup the Passaic River’s polluted waters that caused economic damage to the Newark Bay water complex. The second party defendants are Occidental Chemical which bought Diamond Alkali in 1988, Tierra Solutions which owns the plant site; Maxus Energy (formerly named Diamond Shamrock), Maxus International, CLH Holdings and four YPF affiliates in Argentina.

          Maxus and Tierra filed third party claims in 2009, against 300 entities to dilute their liability, alleging that all were responsible for polluting the waters with spillage and sewage over the prior 80 years. Defendants are the State of New Jersey, the NY/NJ Port Authority, Public Companies, the NJ Departments of Agriculture & Transportation, 75 Municipalities, and 6 Sewage Treatment Authorities.

Some third party defendants are expected to name other entities, including their vendors, as fourth and fifth party defendants to further dilute their liabilities exponentially. Several defendants have multiple exposures as Municipalities, Sewage Authority users, and public company affiliates.

            In July 2011, Judge Sebastian Lombardi determined that Occidental was liable for the cleanup costs with Maxus Energy and Tierra  that agreed to remove 200,000 cubic yards of river sludge.

               A Special Master has been assigned to coordinate the case in which over 200 law firms are now involved. Discovery began May 9, 2012, for 80 years of documents that could produce 100 billion pages of text. Legal cost estimates range to $5 billion with protracted litigation that could last 5 years.  

            Cleanup liability damages could exceed $10 billion. If half of damages were levied against the 75 Municipalities, who are not remotely liable, their costs would average $100M each.

 

ACTION:  The Governor, Attorney General and Legislature should reduce the case scope and indemnify the 75 municipalities. Otherwise, the consequences could have devastating effects on municipalities that are financially strained now. This case could bankrupt and destroy several cities.

 

 

RJM

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