Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Urging support for the closure of the Keegan Landfill, Kearny, New Jersey
Purpose: To urge the permanent closure and impermeable cap-cover of the Keegan Landfill in Kearny, New Jersey due to hazardous exposures to Newark residents in the East Ward.
Sponsor(s): Council Member, Augusto Amador
Additional Information:
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WHEREAS, the Keegan Landfill in Kearny, New Jersey (Hudson County) originated as the John P. Keegan/Municipal Sanitary Landfill Authority, Site B (Keegan/MLSA) leased from the Town of Kearny in the mid-1940s and functioned as a 230 acre municipal industrial landfill where drummed waste (plating, pigment, and organic waste), cardboard waste, construction waste, household refuse, wires, tires and automobiles, and landscaping debris were disposed of in addition to illegal dumping; and
WHEREAS, the Keegan Landfill in the mid-1980s into the 1990s had underground fires and was tested for contaminated soil and groundwater that proved to contain hazardous materials; and
WHEREAS, the Keegan Landfill for decades has emitted varying levels of colorless gases exposing area residents to toxic smells and sickness (irritation of the eyes, nose, throat causing nausea, headaches, and dizziness etc.,); and
WHEREAS, the Keegan Landfill has proven to exceed the State’s standard maximum, as well as violate the Department of Environmental Protection’s air pollution standards and regulations with double the emission levels, while continuing to expose area residents, particularly Newark residents of the East Ward to noxious odors and hazardous contaminates that will have serious environmental and health impacts.
WHEREAS, the Keegan Landfill currently owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), a state agency that operates the landfill was sued by the Town of Kearny earlier this year which was granted a temporary injunction closing the landfill, thereafter a New Jersey Supreme Court Judge ruled on September 30, 2019 that the Keegan Landfill must permanently close.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council of the City of Newark strongly supports the permanent closure and impermeable cap-cover of the Keegan Landfill in order to prevent the continued hazardous exposure to area residents, particularly Newark residents within the East Ward to airborne contaminates and hazardous materials in the environment.
2. A copy of this resolution shall be forwarded to Mayor Alberto G. Santos, of the Town of Kearny, New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This resolution declares strong support of the Municipal Council for the permanent closure and impermeable cap-cover of the Keegan Landfill, Kearny, New Jersey.