No Plans For Waste Management 'To Start Up Again' In Hillsdale: Mayor

HILLSDALE, NJ — The state Department of Environmental Protection is considering Waste Management's application to continue to use their transfer station despite the fact that the station has been closed for more than three years.

The building's roof collapsed in February 2014 and the company began processing garbage at another North Jersey site as a result.

About 100 people attended a town hall-style meeting the DEP hosted regarding the permit. Many people urged the DEP to deny the permit. Mayor Doug Frank said the department could take "some time" to decide on the permit.

Watch a video of the meeting here:

Mayor Doug Frank sent an email to residents Friday morning about the meeting and pending decision. Here is that statement:

"Those of us who remember the parade of garbage trucks and tractor trailers clogging Hillsdale streets are unified in opposition to renewal of Waste Management's permit for their transfer station. Well over 100 residents of Hillsdale and Washington Township attended the DEP hearing on April 27. I want to thank all who attended and spoke on behalf of the denial of the permit. Although you would not know it from the reporting in one of the local papers, the vast majority were there to oppose the permit renewal. There were only a few who spoke in favor of renewal. These residents are entitled to their opinion, no matter how illogical we may think it is.

"We believe we made a strong argument against the permit. It was based on the filing of the application after its due date and the fact that the permit application was relying on traffic, noise and environmental studies that were almost 20 years old. Our Borough engineer and other professionals challenged their ability to operate in their current configuration with limited space. If the process were truly open and not predetermined, I believe the DEP would have to deny renewal or request a new application based on our presentations.

"I believe that getting Waste Management out of Hillsdale is both a public safety and quality of life issue. Toxic diesel fumes, hazardous run off into our water supply, roads that are not designed for the weight and level of their traffic and, most importantly, the safety of our children as they walk to the library and schools were all raised to the DEP.

"I want to thank Council members DeRosa, Karcich, Pizzella, Ruocco and Segalas for their professional and cogent arguments before the panel. The DEP will address any questions that we raised during the meeting within the next few weeks. Any decision on the permit will take some time. Fortunately, there are no current plans for Waste Management to start up again."

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Photo: A Waste Management garbage truck. — Patch file photo