For Immediate Release: April 23, 1998
For More Information Contact: TLPJ, 202-797-8600
Curtis Fisher, NJPIRG, 609-394-8155
Nancy Marks, NRDC, 212-727-4414
Citizen Groups Win Record New Jersey Clean Air Act Settlement
New Jersey Steel to Pay $1.3 Million Penalty
In a record-setting environmental law victory, The Public Interest Research Group of New Jersey (NJPIRG), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ) announced today that they have just won the largest Clean Air Act citizen suit settlement in New Jersey history. Under the terms of the March 1998 settlement, the New Jersey Steel Corporation (NJ Steel), which was recently purchased by Raritan Steel, will pay a $1.3 million civil penalty for its past violations of the Clean Air Act. The suit had already forced the company to spend additional millions on plant improvements to end its violations of the law.
"This record settlement sends a message that illegal air pollution will not be tolerated," said TLPJ Environmental Enforcement Attorney Mark Wenzler, lead counsel in the case. "It is an important victory for the public interest. New Jersey Steel is ending its illegal pollution, and a serious threat to the public's health is being eliminated."
"This case demonstrates that citizens will step in and take action to enforce the law when state government fails to do so," said Curtis Fisher, Executive Director of NJPIRG. "When the citizens filed the case, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enforcement officials said the violations were ‘not flagrant enough to seek enforcement.' Due to the lawsuit, New Jersey Steel has a more stringent emissions permit, the company has made significant changes in its process to reduce pollution, and has paid a significant penalty. The record speaks for itself."
The environmental groups notified NJ Steel of their intention to sue in the fall of 1995, after discovering thousands of Clean Air Act violations by the company. NJ Steel's own emission monitoring reports showed nearly continuous violations of legal limits for nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide. Neither the state nor the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had done anything to stop the illegal pollution. When the company failed to adequately respond, TLPJ, NJPIRG, and NRDC took action. The number of exceedances eventually reached over 15,000 hours.
In March 1996, TLPJ filed a citizen suit in U.S. District Court in New Jersey on behalf of NJPIRG and NRDC. In August 1996, the New Jersey DEP joined the citizen suit as a plaintiff.
The settlement has important public heath benefits. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated New Jersey as a "severe nonattainment area" for ozone pollution because the state regularly exceeds EPA's health-based ambient air quality standard for ozone pollution. Two of the pollutants emitted by NJ Steel - volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides - react with sunlight to cause ground level ozone, and some of the highest ozone pollution readings in the state have occurred near the NJ Steel plant. Ozone pollution can cause wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath in the short run, and has the potential to permanently damage the lungs after long-term exposure.
According to NRDC attorney Nancy Marks, "This settlement tells corporations loud and clear that they must comply with Clean Air Act permits. Strict compliance will help New Jersey lower ozone pollution, comply with EPA standards, and provide healthier air for its citizens."
A total of $100,000 of the $1.3 million penalty will fund a supplemental environmental project to improve air quality near the NJ Steel plant. Edison Greenways Group will use the grant to reduce vehicle usage and subsequent ozone pollution along the U.S. Route 1 corridor through the local county. The group plans to work in conjunction with businesses, civic organizations, environmental groups, and local and state governmental agencies to meet this goal.
In addition to setting a state record, The NJ Steel case represents other important "firsts" as well. It is one of the first cases nationally to rely on data from a continuous emissions monitor system (CEMS) to prove violations of the Act. A CEMS monitors and records hourly pollution emitted from a plant. CEMS allow for accurate and reliable data collection.
The NJ Steel settlement is also the first case taken on by TLPJ in which the penalty is designed to force the polluter to pay the full cost of offsetting the excess pollution it emitted into the air. The $1.3 million penalty represents the price NJ Steel would have had to pay to purchase emissions credits on the open market to cover the amount of illegal pollution it emitted.
The consent decree settling the litigation was entered as a final order in the case by U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway of Newark on April 21, 1998. Ed Lloyd, director of the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, and TLPJ's Jim Hecker also served as co-counsel in the case. The lawsuit was filed as part of TLPJ's Environmental Enforcement Project, which sues polluters for violating the law and forces them to comply with it.