Owners of an illegally operated toxic waste dump, as well as other responsible parties, in Bergen Square, Camden, were sued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in 2021 for alleged violations of multiple environmental laws. Contaminated soil from the site has spilled into roads, has been kicked up into the air, and has invaded neighboring residential properties. EELC filed a motion to participate as an amicus curiae in order to give the impacted community—defined by DEP as an Overburdened Community—a voice, as well as to educate the court on other legal avenues that could be used to quickly remediate the site. Since the lawsuit began, the City of Camden allocated $5 million of the City’s budget to remediate the site.
On February 9, 2022, EELC initially filed a Notice of Motion for Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae with the Camden Superior Court, but the case was transferred to the Burlington Superior Court on March 8, 2022. The motion was granted on May 11, 2022.
