TRENTON – Senate Environment & Energy Committee Chairman Bob Smith (D-Middlesex, Somerset) today announced that the committee will hold a hearing regarding the operation and attempted closure of the Fenimore Landfill in Roxbury Township, Morris County. The hearing will take place next Thursday, May 30, at 10:00 a.m. in Committee Room 4.
“There are several issues regarding the landfill that need to be looked at before we take action, but rest assured, we are moving forward,” said Smith. “But before we move forward on any bill, we need to know what exactly is going on at Fenimore and what we in the Legislature can actually do about it. That is the only way we are truly going to resolve the issue.”
The landfill closed in 1977 but was reopened in 2011 with the intent to cap it, shut it down and then build a solar facility over it. Those plans, however, have become stymied and there have been various complaints about the landfill from local residents. The DEP currently has a lawsuit pending against the owner of Fenimore.
“I have been in contact with both Senator Bucco and the mayor of Roxbury and have assured them that the Senate is committed to resolving this issue in a manner that is best for the residents of Roxbury and the surrounding community,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland). “There are many questions that need to be answered before we can put forward legislation on the issue.”