(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 22.)
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey plans to appeal a ruling that allows a railroad to operate trash transfer stations under federal law rather than more stringent state environmental regulations.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden erased the $2.5 million fine that had been imposed against the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Corp. regarding four facilities it operated in Hudson County.
“In recent years, the communities in that area have had to contend with unacceptable consequences, like two-story heaps of steaming garbage and running muck along railroad tracks,” Susan Bass Levin, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission chairman and commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, said in a statement.
“This decision places the state’s ability to protect residents and their environment at risk,” Bass Levin added.
Judge Hayden, based in Newark, ruled Wednesday that federal law takes precedence over regulations of the state Department of Environmental Protection. In this case, the federal law is the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, enacted in 1996, which specifically said it takes precedence over other regulations regarding rail operations.
A spokesman for the freight line, Thomas V. O’Neil, said the company was pleased the judge ruled federal law pre-empts state regulations.
“We have committed substantial resources in upgrading these facilities over the past year and a half that this litigation has been pending,” he added.
But Bass Levin said the upgrades were not enough.
“To this point, the site improvements that have been made are unacceptable and we will not be satisfied until we are assured that these buildings meet basic standards,” she said.
The conflict began in January 2005, when officials from the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and North Bergen called for a task force to look into problems associated with the sites.
Talks between the railway and the DEP later broke off, and the state fined the railroad $2.5 million and ordered it to comply with the regulations. The railway sued the DEP in August 2005, saying the fines could put it out of business.