TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey’s top law enforcement and environmental officials announced five new lawsuits targeting gas station owners accused of failing to clean up gasoline contamination in overburdened communities.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said the cases represent the latest effort to hold polluters accountable under the state’s Environmental Justice Law.
Two additional lawsuits filed in recent years have been settled, bringing enforcement totals under the Murphy administration to 80 civil cases in heavily impacted neighborhoods.
Key Points
- Five new environmental enforcement actions filed against gas stations in North, Central, and South Jersey
- Two previously filed environmental justice lawsuits settled for more than $240,000 in penalties
- State has recovered over $31 million in environmental damages and penalties since 2018
Settlements in Ewing and Union City
Sigma Realty, Inc., and its officers, Simon and Aglaia Siliverdis, agreed to pay $117,500 to resolve violations tied to a former gas station in Ewing. The DEP found that the company failed for more than two decades to clean up petroleum contamination despite repeated administrative orders. The property has since been sold, with the new owner assuming remediation responsibilities under a DEP agreement.
In a separate case, Martin Service Center Corporation (MSCC) and its owners settled allegations that they ignored orders to remove underground storage tanks at a Union City site. Contamination persisted for years, prompting DEP to seek court intervention. The company agreed to remove the tanks, remediate the property, and pay $125,000 in penalties.
Five new enforcement cases target lingering contamination
The state’s latest complaints involve properties in Newark, Bridgewater, and Sewell, among others. Officials say each case represents a failure to meet prior remediation commitments that threaten public health in already overburdened neighborhoods.
Maybach Assets LLC, located at 556-564 Springfield Avenue in Newark, entered into an Administrative Consent Order with DEP in 2023 to clean up known soil and groundwater contamination. The company allegedly failed to follow through, missing multiple deadlines and halting communication with regulators.
McFarland & Sons, operating at 555 West Union Avenue in Bridgewater Township, was first cited in the 1990s for gasoline pollution discovered in groundwater monitoring wells. Despite multiple enforcement orders and a 2008 consent agreement, the company allegedly failed to complete remediation. DEP seeks to compel compliance and recover penalties totaling $91,200.
Sewell property among latest targets
At 109 Delsea Drive in Sewell, ARFA Enterprises, Inc. faces new enforcement for missing remediation deadlines set under a 2017 consent order. The property, where large underground tanks once leaked gasoline, has remained contaminated despite nearly three decades of regulatory oversight. DEP says ARFA owes more than $17,000 in fees and will pursue additional civil penalties.
Commissioner LaTourette emphasized that the agency’s work continues to prioritize low-income and minority communities long affected by pollution. Attorney General Platkin added that gasoline contamination poses widespread risks to soil and groundwater statewide, and that his office intends to continue pursuing enforcement wherever violations occur.
Since 2018, DEP and the Attorney General’s Office have filed 80 environmental enforcement cases in overburdened communities. More than three dozen have been resolved, securing millions for cleanup and penalties aimed at restoring New Jersey’s most impacted areas.