History | P.A.I.D.

2008 – The project initially began as preparation for a cell tower, but never made it through the permitting process.

2014 – After a Compliance Check NJDEP cited property owner for operating a Solid Waste Facility without obtaining a permit.
2015 – NJDEP issued a further warning letter and requested paperwork and certification of the materials being dumped. Those items were never satisfactorily produced.
2015 – Sussex County Soil Conservation District issued a SWO for lack of erosion controls in place and failure to submit engineering plans for site.

2017 September – Property owner pleads guilty to illegal dumping of contaminated debris to 6 locations in Warwick, NY.
2018 May – Municipal judge fined property owner $75000 for illegal soil dumping. Property owner appeals judgement.
2018 July – Rep. Josh Gottheimer visited site. He wrote to NJDEP and EPA asking for clarification and testing of the materials on the site.

2018 August – County judge denied Vernon’s request for an injunction to enforce the SWO issued by the SCSCD. Dumping resumed at an average of 10-15 loads per day.
2018 October – Rep. Josh Gottheimer returned for another site visit. Water sample collected from the water emanating from the base of the debris mountain.
2018 October 8 – more than 30 loads delivered in a single day
2018 December – NJDEP Director McCabe, representative from EPA Region 2, Gottheimer and others gathered for a site visit. McCabe deferred to local authorities as being better suited to handle the dumping than the DEP. After the visit dumping continued at the rate of 10 – 30 loads daily, 6 days per week, from 7am to 6pm.

2019 January 21 – PAID rally at Silver Spruce to bring visibility to the issue
2019 February 8 – PAID rally at DEP offices in Cedar Knolls.
2019 February 22 – NJ Attorney General filed complaints in state Superior Court for operating an Unlicensed Solid Waste Facility after samples collected came back with levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and lead above residential standards.