State Sues Closed Montvale Company Over Water Contamination

MONTVALE, NJ - The state sued the owners of a former Montvale electronics plant claiming it discharged hazardous chemicals that contaminated groundwater decades ago.

On Wednesday, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced the lawsuit against Handy & Harman Electronics Materials Corp.

From 1970 until 1986, Handy & Harman Electronic Materials Corp. and its predecessor conducted metal etching and surfacing operations at a three-acre property at 20 Craig Road, according to the state. That included cleaning electronic components using the solvent TCE, which was stored in a pair of 500-gallon, above-ground storage tanks behind the facility, the state said. There was also TCE waste stored in drums throughout the property, the state said.

According to the lawsuit, “numerous” discharges of TCE occurred both inside and outside the plant during its operating years. As a result of the contamination, several drinking water wells operated by the Borough of Park Ridge were impacted, which led to these drinking wells’ closure decades ago.

In December 1986, Handy & Harman entered into an Administrative Consent Order with DEP requiring that the company investigate and remediate environmental contamination at the site. Since then, investigation and remediation activities have taken place both on the property and at impacted drinking water wells surrounding the property, according to the state.

The newly-filed lawsuit seeks to recover damages for the prior injuries to natural resources, as well as for the cleanup and removal costs that have been incurred by the state in the past and that are likely to be incurred going forward.

It alleges violations of the Spill Act, Water Pollution Control Act, and Solid Waste Management Act, and common law claims involving public nuisance, trespass and negligence. The complaint also names other defendants, including Steel Partners Holdings, which acquired all outstanding shares of Handy & Harman.

On Wednesday, the state also announced the filing of a lawsuit against Sherwin Williams over operations at the company's sites in Camden County. The state alleges that Sherwin Williams manufactured oil-based paints, lacquers and varnishes, and in the process discharged industrial wastes into the ground, into nearby creeks and lakes.

“As Attorney General, I have been committed to holding polluters accountable for the legacy of contamination they left in our state,” said Grewal. “Too many companies have treated the public’s natural resources like private dumping grounds, despite the health risks to our residents and the harms to our environment. That is why we’ve spent the past two years making polluters pay for the damage they caused, efforts that continue with today’s lawsuits. I am proud of the twelve natural resource damage actions that we filed in just two years, and I know that we are only getting started.”

“Today’s two lawsuits continue DEP’s unwavering commitment to go beyond the cleanup of contaminated sites to requiring the restoration or compensation for the damage to our precious natural resources,” said McCabe. “Enforcing our state’s laws against past abuses helps put us on track toward a cleaner, healthier future for all New Jerseyans.”