PARK RIDGE AND MONTVALE, N.J.—A lawsuit filed Dec. 18 by state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal against former owners of Handy & Harman Electronic Materials Corp. of Montvale alleges hazardous materials were discharged on site and emanated from the property, contaminating groundwater and nearby drinking water wells in Park Ridge in the mid-1980s.
During Handy & Harman’s ownership, the lawsuit alleges, hazardous substances including TCE (trichloroethylene) were discharged on the property.
The pollution has occasionally led to concerns about drinking water quality, prompting assurances from public water officials that utilities take steps to monitor and filter out contaminants.
The 3-acre property, at 20 Craig Road in Montvale, was used for the cleaning of electrical components through a degreasing process that relied on TCE, said the attorney general’s office.
“Today’s [natural resource damage] lawsuits mark another step in Attorney General Grewal and NJDEP Commissioner [Catherine] McCabe’s efforts to revitalize New Jersey’s environmental enforcement program. After eight years in which the State did not file any new NRD actions, the State has now filed 12 NRD actions in two years. In 2019 alone, the State filed eight such actions, including the two filed today,” said a statement from the attorney general’s office.
In addition to the Montvale lawsuit, the state charged Sherwin Williams with illegally discharging industrial wastes at three sites in Camden County.
The six-count complaint against Handy & Harman alleges violations of the Spill Act, Water Pollution Control Act, and Solid Waste Management Act, and common law claims involving public nuisance, trespass and negligence.
According to the complaint, it names other defendants as well, including Steel Partners Holdings, which acquired all outstanding shares of Handy & Harman.
“Through today’s action, DEP seeks to recover damages for the prior injuries to natural resources, as well as for the cleanup and removal costs that have been incurred by the state in the past and that are likely to be incurred going forward,” said Grewal’s office.
The state lawsuit notes New Jersey agencies spent nearly $350,000 on subsequent contamination removal and cleanup.
The Montvale plant closed in late 1985. Fifty-seven former employees sued in 1989 alleging exposure to a cancer-causing chemical.
The plant closed only a few months after TCE was confirmed on site by NJDEP, according to state officials.
From 1970 through 1985, the electronic components company was owned by various owners.
According to NJDEP’s lawsuit, “numerous” TCE discharges occurred during operating years inside and outside the plant, polluting several drinking water wells owned and operated by Park Ridge borough, which led to the wells’ closing over three decades ago.
The lawsuit notes owners stored TCE in two 500-gallon, above-ground storage tanks on site, while used TCE was stored in drums all over the property.
In December 1986, Handy & Harman signed an Administrative Consent Order with DEP that required them to investigate and remediate site contamination.
Since then, investigation and remediation activities have taken place both on site and at contaminated drinking water wells near the property, said NJDEP officials.
“As Attorney General, I have been committed to holding polluters accountable for the legacy of contamination they left in our state,” said Attorney General Grewal on Dec. 18.
“Too many companies have treated the public’s natural resources like private dumping grounds, despite the health risks to our residents and the harms to our environment,” he added.
He promised more lawsuits against polluters. “I know that we are only getting started,” he said.
In mid-September 2015, Pascack Press reported that Park Ridge’s Water Department’s director had assured borough residents that water provided by the utility was safe, noting the utility had “zero tolerance” with contaminants in any public well and monitored its 18 supply wells “24/7” 365 days a year.
Some residents had become concerned after receiving a certified letter from a licensed site remediation professional on DEP letterhead referring to contaminated groundwater possibly flowing underneath certain Park Ridge properties.
