MARCH 20, 2019 • WWW.THEOBSERVER.COM • VOL. CXXXI, NO. 45
SANTOS TO MURPHY: SHUT KEEGAN NOW! COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Kearny’s mayor fed up, wants smelly landfill closed forever
By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
but they’ll say they’re understaffed. It’s the best explanation they can provide.” Over the last few months, since the state and county agency has been less than forthcoming, according to Santos, the town itself has set up one testing station of its own — and plans to set up yet another. It is believed hydrogen sulfate is what is causing the rotten egg-type smell that anyone who has been in Kearny the last few months could likely say they’ve smelled. An acceptable level of hydrogen sulfate is anything up to 30 parts per billion (ppb). On one day of testing recently, the readings varied from 82 ppb to a staggering 248 ppb, the mayor said. These high readings could lead to health problems for residents, includ-
THERE ARE 17 MILLION REASONS WHY the State of New Jersey has not closed the Keegan Landfill off Bergen Avenue, Kearny Mayor Alberto G. Santos says. And yet, all it would take for Gov. Phil Murphy to do so is the stroke of a pen. But the mayor says he hasn’t heard from the governor — and he’s alarmed by the state’s and the Hudson Regional Health Commission’s lack of candor over the clear reality that the odors Kearny residents keep smelling are from the landfill. “They have not been transparent,” the mayor said in a phone interview last week. “They will say they’re looking into the cause of the odors,
HIGHLIGHTS
ing the ability to breathe properly. So how is it possible the governor and other environmental agencies have still not acted upon countless phone calls to a complaint hotline set up to take residents’ complaints about the odors — and despite numerous media reports about the issue? “The governor’s staff is likely not sharing with him yet the information about the calls,” Santos said. “If you were to ask the governor about the situation at the landfill, he’d likely say he’d looking into it and would get back to you.” Despite these obvious setbacks, Santos says he and his colleagues on the Kearny Town Council will not back down until the landfill is closed. He says he hasn’t spoken directly with the governor as yet, but if he
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attends any events where Murphy is present, he will gain his ear. “We will not let this go,” he said. “This is a public health and environmental health crisis. It is interesting that the governor’s own attorney general has sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency over other environmental issues. Maybe it’s time for New Jersey to look in the mirror and say ‘Look at yourself New Jersey. Look at what you’re doing to the environment.’” While the state continues to drag its feet — neither the EPA nor the Hudson Regional Health Commission have yet to admit precisely where the odors are coming from — Santos
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