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GURBIR S. GREWAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY
25 Market Street, PO Box 093
Trenton, NJ 08625-0093
By: Aaron A. Love
(035972010)
Dianna E. Shinn (242372017)
Willis A. Doerr (266042018)
Deputy Attorneys General
(609) 376-2762
Counsel for Plaintiff, New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY, OCEAN COUNTY
LAW DIVISION
Docket No. L-____-19
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,
Plaintiff,

Civil Action
VERIFIED COMPLAINT

v.
SAM S. RUSSO, individually,
SAM S. RUSSO, INC., and
SUZIE Q. RUSSO, LLC, d/b/a
SUZIE Q. FARM,
Defendants.

For a Preliminary Injunction
and for Summary Action on
Permanent Injunctive Relief
and Statutory Penalties

NATURE OF THE ACTION
1.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

(DEP) is suing the owners and operators of an unpermitted solid
waste facility at 27 Hopkins Lane and Stoney Hill Road in
Plumsted Township, Ocean County.
2.

The defendants are Sam S. Russo, the owner of the

property, and two companies that Russo controls, Sam S. Russo,
Inc., and Suzie Q. Russo, LLC (doing business as Suzie Q. Farm).

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3.

Between April 6, 2018, and April 5, 2019, nearly two

dozen companies disposed of at least 1,719 dump truck loads of
dirt totaling approximately 34,000 to 42,000 tons; 234 loads of
food waste totaling approximately 1,100 to 1,600 tons; 300 dump
truck loads of asphalt millings; 444 loads of grass clippings;
302 loads of leaves; 229 loads of woodchips; and 25 loads of
crushed concrete on Russo’s property.
4.

In that same twelve-month period, Suzie Q. Farm

charged at least $300,800 in disposal fees to these companies.
5.

Accepting and disposing of these types of materials

requires DEP-issued solid waste and water pollution discharge
permits that Defendants do not have.
6.

In May 2017, DEP entered a final order directing Russo

to obtain pollution discharge permits for his activities.

In

December 2017 Russo dropped his appeal of that final order,
signed a settlement with DEP, and agreed to apply for a
pollution discharge permit.
7.

But Russo never applied for a discharge permit, nor

have Defendants applied for any solid waste facility permits.
8.

Defendants’ unpermitted activities can directly harm

the environment: runoff and leachate from large quantities of
food waste, grass clippings, woodchips, and leaves, and waterborne sediment from huge stockpiles of dirt on the property,
contain pollutants and pose a risk to ground and surface waters.

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9.

DEP suspects that pollutants from Defendants’

activities were discharged to a stream running through Russo’s
property and may have caused the sudden death of hundreds of
fish and aquatic plants in a pond downstream of Russo’s property
on two occasions last year.
10.

Defendants’ actions violate the Water Pollution

Control Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, a final order from
DEP, and a settlement Defendants reached with DEP.

To remedy

these violations, DEP asks the court to enter preliminary and
permanent injunctions blocking all imports to the site of dirt
and soil, asphalt millings, grass clippings, leaves, woodchips,
food waste, and crushed concrete, and to issue an order
requiring Defendants to remove all buried and stockpiled solid
waste and recyclable materials on the property to an approved
solid waste facility.

DEP also seeks an order requiring

Defendants to pay both statutory and stipulated penalties.

And,

at the same time, DEP requests an order granting it access to
the property to conduct further site inspections, and to require
Defendants to produce all relevant records.
PARTIES AND THE PROPERTY
11.

Plaintiff New Jersey Department of Environmental

Protection is a principal department of the State of New Jersey.
DEP is charged with the enforcement of New Jersey’s
environmental protection statutes and regulation of solid waste

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facilities.

In addition to its other statutory powers, DEP

regulates discharges of pollutants to surface and ground waters,
transport and disposal of solid waste, and processing of
recyclable materials under the Water Pollution Control Act,
N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1 et seq., and the Solid Waste Management Act,
N.J.S.A. 13:1E-1 et seq.
12.

Defendant Sam S. Russo (Russo), named individually, is

the owner of four tax lots known as Block 58, Lots 13 and 14;
Block 61, Lot 14; and Block 62, Lot 7 on the Township’s tax
maps.
13.

Suzanne Russo owns Block 61, Lot 2 with a street

address of 8 Stoney Hill Road.

This property adjoins Block 58,

Lot 13.
14.

A holding company called 350 E. Millstream Road, LLC,

owns Block 61, Lots 3 and 6.

These tax lots adjoin Block 58 Lot

13 and Block 61, Lot 14, both owned by Russo.

Corporate filings

by 350 E. Millstream Road list Russo as its sole officer and 27
Hopkins Lane as its principal address.
15.

These seven tax lots cover 94.3 acres.

Collectively,

they are referred to here as “the Property.”
16.

Russo and his family do not live at the Property.

They live at 148 Brynmore Road in New Egypt, New Jersey.

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17.

Defendant Suzie Q. Russo, LLC, is a limited liability

company formed in 2011 under the laws of New Jersey and doing
business as Suzie Q. Farm from 27 Hopkins Lane.
18.

Defendant Sam S. Russo, Inc., (Russo Inc.) is a

corporation formed in 1984 under the laws of New Jersey.
Inc. is wholly owned and operated by Russo.

Russo

Russo Inc. provides

site clearing, demolition, and waste hauling services.

Russo

Inc. operates from the Property where it has its offices and
where it stores its equipment.
19.

Russo Inc. has a solid waste transporter license

issued by DEP.

Russo Inc. provides dumpster services in the

Ocean and Burlington Counties area and primarily hauls
construction and demolition waste.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
20.

The Superior Court has jurisdiction over suits by DEP

for injunctive relief, penalties, recovery of costs, and for
other relief arising from violations of the Solid Waste
Management Act, N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(d) and the Water Pollution
Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10A-10(c).
21.

This summary action is authorized by Rule 4:52-1

(applications for preliminary injunctive relief), Rule 4:67-6
(actions to enforce final agency orders), Rule 4:70 and the
Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999, N.J.S.A. 2A:58-11 (actions to
recover statutory penalties), the Solid Waste Management Act,

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N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(b) (actions to enforce solid waste violations
in Superior Court), and because this matter is appropriate for
summary action within the court’s discretion under Rule 4:671(b).
22.

Venue is appropriate in Ocean County because this

action arises out of violations that occurred in Plumsted
Township and because Defendants reside in Ocean County.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
Russo has not complied with a final DEP order
directing Russo to obtain water pollution discharge
permits.
A.
23.

DEP’s Prior Administrative Action

In 2011, DEP issued Russo an Administrative Order for

violating the Water Pollution Control Act by undertaking
construction and industrial activities without pollution permits
for associated stormwater discharges.
24.

DEP’s 2011 Administrative Order alleged that Russo had

paved more than one acre with asphalt millings and buried
100,000 tons of waste soil on the Property.

DEP alleged these

were construction-related activities that require stormwater
pollution discharge permits under DEP’s Water Pollution Control
Act rules.
25.

DEP also alleged that Russo required an industrial

water pollution discharge permit to use the Property as a
storage yard for his solid waste company, including by storing

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dozens of dumpsters and a wide array of industrial demolition
and excavation equipment on the property.
26.

DEP directed Russo to stop these construction-related

and industrial activities, and to pay a civil administrative
penalty.
27.

Russo did not comply, and instead requested a hearing

to contest the 2011 Administrative Order.

The case was referred

to the Office of Administrative Law.
28.

In 2016, an Administrative Law Judge issued an Initial

Decision that Russo violated the Water Pollution Control Act
when he undertook these activities without pollution discharge
permits.
29.

On May 22, 2017, DEP issued its Final Decision

adopting the Judge’s factual findings and determination of
liability.
30.

Russo appealed the Final Decision to the Appellate

Division, but then withdrew his appeal in December 2017 as part
of a settlement agreement with DEP (discussed further below).
B.
31.

Defendants’ Subsequent Actions

Despite the Final Decision and the settlement, in 2018

and 2019 Russo and Suzie Q. Farm continued the same regulated
activities without applying for or obtaining any water pollution
discharge permits.

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32.

Between April 6, 2018, and April 5, 2019, Russo and

Suzie Q. Farm accepted 1,355 dump truck loads of fill dirt and
364 truckloads of topsoil for a total of 1,719 loads.

These

loads were accepted for processing and burial at the Property
without a water pollution discharge permit.
33.

Each load averaged between 20 and 25 tons per load, so

Defendants accepted between 34,000 to 43,000 tons of soil in
this one-year period alone.
34.

In 2018 and 2019, Russo and Suzie Q. Farm also

accepted approximately 300 dump truck loads of asphalt millings.
Russo and Suzie Q. Farm have paved more than one acre with
asphalt millings, and re-paved many more acres, without a water
pollution discharge permit.
35.

Russo Inc. continues to use the Property to store

dumpsters, solid waste trailers, and related construction and
demolition equipment such as front-end loaders, bulldozers, a
road grader, excavators, and soil processing machines called
trommel screeners, without an industrial water pollution
discharge permit.
Russo and Suzie Q. farm have not complied with the
terms of a 2017 settlement with DEP.
36.

After litigating the 2011 Administrative Order to a

Final Decision, Russo and Suzie Q. Farm settled four other
administrative orders for numerous additional environmental

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violations discovered on the Property between 1998 and 2012.
These four additional orders were still pending as contested
cases in the Office of Administrative Law at the time of the
settlement.
37.

Russo and Suzie Q. Farm also settled Russo’s liability

for unpaid civil administrative penalties, including the $60,000
penalty in the 2011 Administrative Order, by agreeing to make
payments to DEP on a payment plan. 1
38.

Russo, Suzie Q. Farm, and DEP signed an Administrative

Consent Order on October 26, 2017, that obligated Russo and
Suzie Q. Farm to apply for and obtain a water pollution
discharge permit for all areas of the site not devoted to
agriculture.

The Administrative Consent Order became effective

on December 2, 2017.
39.

As part of this settlement, Russo withdrew his notice

of appeal of the Final Decision.

On December 6, 2017, the

Appellate Division ordered the appeal dismissed with prejudice.
40.

In the Administrative Consent Order, Russo and Suzie

Q. Farm agreed that DEP would determine whether Russo and Suzie
Q. Farm have obtained necessary approvals.

They agreed that DEP

can direct Russo and Suzie Q. Farm to cease all relevant
operations without the requisite approvals.

1

As of the date of this filing, Russo and Suzie Q. Farm do not
owe any payments under the civil penalties payment schedule.
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41.

Russo and Suzie Q. Farm have not applied for or

obtained any stormwater discharge permits despite the many nonfarm uses of the Property.
42.

Russo and Suzie Q. Farm agreed to file a deed notice

for the Property stating that there are buried woodchips on the
Property which may not be conducive to the growth of commercial
crops or other vegetation, or considered stable or appropriate
fill for construction and development activities.
43.

Russo has not filed this deed notice, despite repeated

reminders from DEP and notices of violation for non-compliance
with the ACO.
Defendants are operating an unpermitted solid waste
facility.
44.

Russo claims to be a livestock farmer whose primary

use of the Property is to raise and sell cattle and swine.
45.

However, the primary use of the Property is industrial

and commercial, not agricultural.
46.

In the year between April 6, 2018, and April 5, 2019,

Russo and Suzie Q. Farm accepted approximately 1,355 dump truck
loads of fill dirt; 364 loads of topsoil; 444 loads of grass
clippings; 302 loads of leaves; 300 loads of asphalt millings;
229 loads of woodchips; 234 loads of food waste; and 25 loads of
crushed concrete.

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47.

Russo and Suzie Q. Farm charged at least $300,800 in

dumping fees for all the materials accepted to the Property in
the 12 months ending April 5, 2019.
48.

By contrast, Russo reported only $25,000 in farm-

related income for calendar year 2018.
49.

Under DEP’s recycling rules, food waste, grass

clippings, woodchips, and leaves are defined as Class C
recyclable materials.

Acceptance and processing of these

materials is highly regulated by DEP.

See N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.1 et

seq.
50.

Russo charges to dispose of these materials by

companies that would otherwise have to take these loads to a
DEP-approved facility for disposal, undercutting facilities that
are complying with state law.
51.

Russo also charges other companies to dispose of

unwanted fill dirt and topsoil, including from at least three
recycling centers and a home construction company.
52.

Russo claims to operate a commercial topsoil

processing facility by blending composted animal bedding and
manure with the thousands of dump truck loads of fill dirt, then
selling or giving away blended topsoil to commercial firms.
53.

Despite his claims, Russo is actually burying much of

this material on the Property.

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54.

DEP site inspections in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, as

well as analysis of air photos, show that Russo has spread and
buried these materials over different parts of the Property for
many years, laying down layer after layer of different materials
over a period of years and shifting uses.
55.

Attached as Exhibit A is a key map of Russo’s property

with numbers corresponding to the location of DEP observations
and evidence described in this Verified Complaint.

References

to [Map #] in this Complaint are to the locations shown in
Exhibit A.
56.

Russo’s layering of different materials is most

obvious on the Property east of the large L-shaped barn, in the
area of [Map 2, 14, and 15].

In these areas Russo has created

enormous mounds of material covering several acres and topped
with bulldozed loads of woodchips, leaves, and grass clippings.
57.

Russo also created a gigantic stockpile of fill dirt

near the center of the property [Map 13].
58.

Russo disposes of asphalt millings in several ways.

DEP has observed asphalt millings buried or mixed into the soil
in one of Russo’s fields, on the west side of the Property near
the Hopkins Lane entrance [Map 16].
59.

Russo also disposes of asphalt millings by covering

and re-covering paved areas on his Property with layer after
layer of asphalt millings.

In one area paved between 2016 and

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2018, the asphalt millings appear to be at as much as five feet
thick [Map 7].
60.

In documents and statements to DEP, Russo admits

burying asphalt millings and crushed concrete under layers of
soil, then covering these areas with woodchips, leaves, and
grass clippings.
61.

Russo also testified during a hearing on October 4,

2016, in the consolidated tax appeals docketed as Sam Russo v.
Plumsted Township, New Jersey Tax Court dockets 15983-12, 1071313, and 10167-14, that his company, Russo Inc., hauled waste
concrete to the Property, crushed this material, and buried it
below roadways and paddocks in lieu of disposal at an approved
solid waste facility.
62.

Russo also admitted in his testimony at the same

hearing that Russo Inc. has hauled tree parts like branches and
stumps back to the Property in lieu of disposal at an approved
solid waste facility.
63.

Records provided to DEP by Russo and Suzie Q. Farm in

2019 appear to show that Russo Inc. also uses the property as a
transfer station by hauling construction and demolition waste
from its customers back to the Property for temporary storage
before sending this waste to a permitted solid waste facility.
64.

Defendants have no permits or approvals from DEP to

operate a recycling center or a solid waste facility.

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Defendants paved or re-paved acres of the Property
with asphalt millings without water pollution
discharge permits.
65.

Russo and Suzie Q. Farm report accepting 300 loads of

millings in the twelve-month period ending April 5, 2019.
Asphalt millings are the ground-up asphalt produced when roads
are re-paved.
66.

Since 2016, Russo has covered more than an acre in

thick layers of asphalt millings.
67.

The first area is just over 1 acre large: a roadway

between 50’ and 90’ wide and nearly 700’ long between two fields
[Map 7].
68.

Russo paved this area with a thick layer of millings –

estimated to be at least thigh-deep – from 2016 to 2018.
69.

Russo cut down trees and covered less than an acre

with millings at 29 Stoney Hill Road in 2017 [Map 1].
70.

Russo repaved and widened the Hopkins Lane entrance

driveway to the Property between 2016 and 2018, including
cutting down some small ornamental trees that were planted along
the driveway [Map 6].
71.

Russo repaved large areas of the Property with

additional layers of asphalt millings on the driveways leading
from Stoney Hill Road [Map 23], and in the various staging,
storage, and parking areas that were already paved with millings
before 2016 [Map 3, 5, 11, 12].

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Russo Inc. continues to use the Property as a yard
for its solid waste, demolition, and excavation
equipment.
72.

The Property is the long-time yard and headquarters

for Russo Inc., Sam Russo’s demolition, site clearing, and solid
waste hauling business.
73.

At any given time, Russo Inc. stores dozens of roll-

off dumpsters on the Property, as well as semi-tractor trailers,
waste transfer trailers, shipping containers, shipping trailers,
bulldozers, excavators, backhoes, front-end loaders, dump
trucks, and trommel screeners (large pieces of industrial
equipment used to sort and screen debris and soil).
74.

DEP inspectors have seen RUSSO-branded dumpsters

stored on the Property with waste materials inside.
75.

Other commercial entities besides Russo Inc. operate

from the Property and store trucks and equipment there.
76.

During multiple inspections in 2018, DEP inspectors

noted landscaping trucks, commercial zero-turn lawn mowers,
trailers loaded with grass trimmers, mowers and leaf blowers,
and about 10 Kubota and John Deere-style tractors parked in an
area of Property across from 29 Stoney Hill Road [Map 11].
77.

At least two other commercial firms – a landscaper and

a trucking company - store trucks and other equipment at the
Property.

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78.

Since as far back as 2009, a small-scale car

restoration company has operated from one of the barns on the
Property near [Map 6].
Defendants’ activities risk polluting ground and
surface waters.
79.

Many of the materials Defendants are accepting,

processing, and burying on the Property are known to cause water
pollution unless properly handled and contained.
80.

Runoff and leachate from large piles of grass

clippings and leaves often contains high levels of nutrients
such as phosphorus and nitrates, common water pollutants.
81.

Stormwater from large woodchip piles can create a

black liquid with a highly concentrated nutrient load and a
biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand greater than
that of raw sewage in some instances.
82.

Food waste can contain pathogenic organisms such as

salmonella, which is why food waste should not be dumped on the
ground or spread in fields and should be fully composted to
reach temperatures between 130 degrees and 140 degrees
Fahrenheit.
83.

Livestock manure and soiled animal bedding can pose a

direct threat to water resources from nutrient loading and from
pathogens in feces if not properly composted and managed.

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Ground water can be contaminated by nutrients and salts from
manure storage areas and related runoff seeping into the ground.
84.

Sediment in runoff from dirt piles and large soil

disturbances causes water pollution from the phosphorus,
nitrogen, metals, and organic compounds that are preferentially
absorbed onto mineral or organic particles found in fine
sediment.

Course sediment clogs waterways and is harmful to

aquatic animals.
85.

On two occasions in 2018, DEP inspectors investigating

a fish kill and vegetation die-off in a downstream pond traced
odors and visual signs of the suspected pollutants to the
Property.
86.

On July 25, 2018, responding to a fish kill at a pond

nearby, DEP traced odors of the suspected pollutant, a citrusderived oil, from the pond and up a stream to Russo’s Property.
87.

Two days later, during a follow-up inspection, DEP

inspectors saw a large, uncovered pile of food waste staged near
a livestock pen, including many citrus rinds [Map 3].
88.

Then, on September 10, 2018, DEP responded to the same

pond for a report of a discharge of a vegetable oil-like
product.

The emulsified oil formed a brownish, mucky scum on

the surface and banks of the pond.
89.

DEP followed the odor and traces of the brown scum

from the pond, up the stream, and back to the Property.

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90.

This time, the trail led to a concrete pipe at the

edge of one of Russo’s fields [Map 21].

The pipe was flowing

when DEP found it, and there were traces of brown scummy
material along the ditch from the pipe to the stream.
91.

Looking for the pipe’s source, DEP inspectors walked

further into the Property to an asphalt millings-covered lot
where dumpsters and other equipment were parked, and where Russo
had installed at least three stormwater drains [Map 4].
92.

During the same inspection, DEP photographed a second

ditch discharging brown-tinged water into the stream near [Map
25], further up from the concrete pipe.

The ditch at [Map 26],

the inspectors confirmed, drains the area of the fill dirt pile
at [Map 2 and 13].
93.

Russo later provided a written farm plan and a hand-

drawn map, both indicating that he drains stormwater from his
property into the ground using four dry wells: deep pits filled
with gravel.
94.

Based on its investigations to date, DEP has

determined there may be at least six different water pollution
discharge points on the Property: the concrete pipe that empties
to the stream; the ditch that drains the fill dirt area and
which also discharges to the stream; and four dry wells
discharging stormwater into the ground.

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COUNT 1
To enforce DEP’s Administrative Order to cease
regulated construction and industrial activities
until Defendants obtain water pollution discharge
permits.
95.

Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as if

restated here in full.
96.

The 2011 Administrative Order became a final agency

order on the date of the Final Decision on May 22, 2017.
97.

This final agency order requires Russo to obtain water

pollution discharge permits for industrial and constructionrelated activities, and to cease the regulated activities and
all discharges until such permits are obtained.
98.

Defendants have not applied for any water pollution

discharge permits.
99.

Defendants did not cease - and they continue to

undertake - the very same industrial and construction-related
activities cited in the 2011 Administrative Order and the Final
Decision.
100. DEP is entitled to relief for ongoing violations of
its final agency order, including but not limited to:
a. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
acceptance of fill dirt;
b. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting any
dirt or soil processing activities, including
production of topsoil and deposition or burial of
imported dirt or soil on the Property;

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c. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
acceptance and use of asphalt millings to pave or
repave any part of the Property; and
d. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the
storage of solid waste, solid waste containers and
equipment, and excavation and demolition equipment on
the Property.
COUNT 2
To enforce DEP’s settlement with Russo and Suzie Q.
Farm.
101. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as if
restated here in full.
102. By its terms and under N.J.A.C. 1:1-19.1(c) and (d),
the Administrative Consent Order is a final agency order that is
enforceable in Superior Court.
103. The Administrative Consent Order is also an
enforceable contract for specific performance.
104. Paragraph 15 of the Administrative Consent Order
requires Russo and Suzie Q. Farm to apply for and obtain
stormwater discharge permits for portions of the Property not
dedicated to agriculture.
105. Defendants have not applied for or obtained any
stormwater discharge permits despite the many non-farm uses of
the Property.
106. Paragraphs 18 and 20 require Russo and Suzie Q. Farm
to maintain records of incoming and outgoing materials for 12
months including records of woodchips, leaves, grass clippings,

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food waste, and manure, and of the amounts, dates, and location
of animal waste (including bedding materials) deposited on the
Property, and to make those records available to DEP on request.
107. On April 12, 2019, DEP requested production of
responsive records under the Administrative Consent Order.

To

date, Defendants have not provided complete records of these
materials for DEP’s review.
108. Paragraph 21 requires Russo and Suzie Q. Farm to file
a deed notice for the Property in the form attached to the
Administrative Consent Order, by January 1, 2018.
109. Defendants have not filed the deed notice.
110. DEP is entitled to relief for specific performance of
the requirements of the Administrative Consent Order including
but not limited to:
a. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
acceptance of fill dirt, woodchips, leaves, grass
clippings, food waste, asphalt millings, and crushed
concrete;
b. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting any
dirt or soil processing activities, including
production of topsoil and deposition or burial of
imported dirt or soil on the Property;
c. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
acceptance and use of asphalt millings to pave or
repave any part of the Property;
d. Preliminary injunctive relief requiring Defendants to
produce all records required to be maintained and
provided to DEP under the Administrative Consent Order
within ten days;

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e. An injunction requiring Defendants to file a deed
notice in the form prescribed by the Administrative
Consent Order; and
f. Payment of stipulated penalties for noncompliance with
the Administrative Consent Order.
COUNT 3
To enforce ongoing violations of the Water Pollution
Control Act for undertaking regulated activities and
discharging pollutants without water pollution
discharge permits.
111. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as if
restated here in full.
112. Pursuant to the Water Pollution Control Act, N.J.S.A.
58:10A-6(a), and DEP’s rules, N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.1(d), it is
unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant except in
conformity with a valid water pollution discharge permit issued
by DEP.
113. Water pollution discharge permits are required for
discharges from any facility “under the jurisdiction of the
Solid Waste Management Act,” N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.4(b)(4), and for
certain discharges of stormwater to surface and ground waters.
N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.4(b)(11); see generally N.J.A.C. 7:14A-24.
114. Defendants, without having first obtained a discharge
permit, are operating a solid waste facility subject to
regulation under the Solid Waste Management Act, in violation of
N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.1(d) and 2.4(b)(4).

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115. No person may undertake any small construction
activity that results in a land disturbance of between one and
five acres without first obtaining a stormwater pollution
discharge permit.

N.J.A.C. 7:14A-1.2; N.J.A.C. 7:14A-

24.2(a)(3).
116. Defendants, without having first obtained a small
construction activity water pollution discharge permit, have
undertaken construction-related activities by paving and
repaving between one and five acres of the Property, and by
importing and burying thousands of truckloads of fill dirt and
topsoil, in violation of N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.1(d) and N.J.A.C.
7:14A-24.2(a)(3).
117. No person may discharge pollutants to surface or
ground water from any facility involved in the recycling of
materials, including any facility engaged in the processing of
recycled wood, yard trimmings, and soil blending, without first
obtaining an industrial stormwater NJPDES permit.

N.J.A.C.

7:14A-1.2; N.J.A.C. 7:14A-24.2(a)(2).
118. Defendants, without having first obtained an
industrial water pollution discharge permit, are engaged in
processing wood products, yard trimmings, and soil blending in
violation of N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.1(d) and N.J.A.C. 7:14A24.2(a)(2).

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119. No person may discharge pollutants to surface or
ground water from an industrial facility required to obtain a
stormwater discharge permit without first obtaining such permit.
N.J.A.C. 7:14A-1.2; N.J.A.C. 7:14A-24.2(a)(2).
120. Defendants, without having first obtained an
industrial water pollution discharge permit, have stored solid
waste containers and excavation and demolition equipment, which
are industrial activities that require a water pollution
discharge permit, in violation of N.J.A.C. 7:14A-2.1(d) and
N.J.A.C. 7:14A-24.2(a)(2).
121. Under N.J.S.A. 58:10A-10(c)(1), DEP is entitled to
preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent
continuing unpermitted discharges, including:
a. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
acceptance of fill dirt, woodchips, leaves, grass
clippings, food waste, asphalt millings, and crushed
concrete;
b. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting any
dirt or soil processing activities, including
production of topsoil and deposition or burial of
imported dirt or soil on the Property;
c. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
acceptance and use of asphalt millings to pave or
repave any part of the Property;
d. Preliminary injunctive relief requiring Defendants to
provide full access to DEP and/or individuals on
behalf of DEP to conduct an inspection and sampling on
the Property to investigate suspected water pollution
discharges, to dye-test drains and catchments to
determine outfalls, to inspect interior buildings for
interior drains, along with any other sampling DEP
deems reasonable and necessary; and
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e. Permanent injunctive relief requiring removal of all
Class C recyclable materials from the Property to an
approved Class C facility.
122. Under N.J.S.A. 58:10A-10(c) and (e), DEP is also
entitled to non-injunctive relief for violations of the Water
Pollution Control Act including:
a. Assessment of civil penalties;
b. Assessment of the actual amount of any economic
benefits accruing to Defendants from the violations;
and
c. Assessment of the reasonable costs incurred by DEP to
investigating these violations.
COUNT 4
To enforce ongoing violations of the Solid Waste
Management Act for operating a recycling center
without DEP approval.
123. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as if
restated here in full.
124. Grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, and brush
(collectively called “yard trimmings” in DEP’s rules) and
source-separated food waste are regulated Class C recyclable
materials.

N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1.3.

125. A “recycling center” includes any facility that
receives, stores, processes, or transfers Class C recyclable
materials.

N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1.3.

126. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26A-3.1(a), no recycling center
shall receive, store, process or transfer any Class C recyclable
material without DEP’s prior written approval.

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127. Any person who operates a recycling center for the
receipt, storage, processing, or transfer of Class C recyclable
material without prior written approval shall be considered to
be operating an unlicensed solid waste facility and shall be
subject to penalties and enforcement under the Solid Waste
Management Act, N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9.

N.J.A.C. 7:26A-3.1(b).

128. Defendants have received, stored, processed, and/or
transferred large quantities of Class C materials, namely grass
clippings, woodchips, leaves, and food waste without written
approval from DEP to operate a recycling center.
129. Under N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(d) and (f), DEP is entitled to
injunctive and non-injunctive relief for violations of the Solid
Waste Management Act, including:
a. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
further receipt, storage, processing, or transfer of
Class C recyclable materials on or to the Property;
b. Preliminary injunctive relief to require Defendants to
provide full access to DEP and/or individuals on
behalf of DEP to conduct an inspection and sampling on
the Property to investigate the extent and
characteristics of stockpiled and buried regulated
materials and solid waste anywhere on the Property, to
inspect interior buildings for regulated solid waste
activities, and to perform such other sampling DEP
deems reasonable and necessary;
c. Permanent injunctive relief requiring removal of all
solid waste buried or placed on the Property to an
approved solid waste facility;
d. Assessment of civil penalties; and
e. Assessment of the reasonable costs incurred by DEP to
investigating these violations.
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COUNT 5
To enforce ongoing violations of the Solid Waste
Management Act for operating an unpermitted solid
waste facility.
130. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as if
restated here in full.
131. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.8(e), no person shall
engage in the disposal of solid waste without obtaining approval
to operate a solid waste facility.
132. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.8(f), no person shall
begin construction or operation of a solid waste facility
without first obtaining a solid waste facility permit.
133. A solid waste facility is any system, site, equipment
or building used for the storage, collection, processing,
transfer, transportation, separation, recycling, recovering or
disposal of solid waste, but does not include recycling centers.
N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.4 (defining “solid waste facility”).
134. A transfer station is a solid waste facility at which
solid waste is transferred from one solid waste vehicle to
another for transportation to an off-site solid waste facility.
N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.4 (defining “transfer station”).
135. Construction and demolition waste includes waste
building material and rubble resulting from construction,
remodeling, repair, and demolition operations on houses,

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commercial buildings, pavements, and other structures.

N.J.A.C.

7:26-1.4 (defining “construction and demolition waste”).
136. A material is a solid waste if it is disposed of by
being discharged, deposited, injected, dumped, spilled, leaked,
or placed into or on any land or water so that such material or
any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be
discharged into ground or surface waters.

N.J.A.C. 7:26-1.6(c).

137. Unprocessed recyclable materials, post-consumer
materials, and used or abandoned materials that are or will be
deposited on or in the lands of the State for any period
exceeding six months, including by stockpiling, staging or
storing, are solid waste and are subject to regulation under
DEP’s solid waste disposal rules.

N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1.1(d).

138. Defendants engaged in disposal of solid waste when
they accepted Class C materials without a recycling center
approval, and where the materials were deposited on or in the
ground at the Property for more than six months, in violation of
N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.8(e).
139. Defendants engaged in disposal of solid waste when
they charged other companies to dispose of fill dirt and soil,
asphalt millings, and other waste material on the Property, and
where Defendants discarded these materials, or accumulated and
stored these materials in lieu of being discarded, or placed

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these materials on the Property in a manner constituting
disposal, without a permit in violation of N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.8(e).
140.

Defendants operated an unpermitted solid waste

facility at the Property by disposing of regulated Class C
recyclable materials and other waste materials without a solid
waste facility permit, in violation of N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.8(f).
141. Defendants operated an unpermitted solid waste
facility by using the Property as a transfer station for loads
of solid waste transported by Russo Inc. to the Property for
storage or transfer to other solid waste containers, and where
the solid waste was subsequently taken for disposal at another
solid waste facility, in violation of N.J.A.C. 7:26-2.8(f).
142. Under N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(d) and (f), DEP is entitled to
injunctive and non-injunctive relief for violations of the Solid
Waste Management Act, including:
a. Preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting
further receipt, storage, processing, or transfer of
solid waste on or to the Property;
b. Preliminary injunctive relief to require Defendants to
provide full access to DEP and/or individuals on
behalf of DEP to conduct an inspection and sampling on
the Property to investigate the extent and
characteristics of stockpiled and buried regulated
materials and solid waste anywhere on the Property, to
inspect interior buildings for regulated solid waste
activities, and to perform such other sampling DEP
deems reasonable and necessary;
c. Permanent injunctive relief requiring removal of all
solid waste buried or placed on the Property to an
approved solid waste facility;

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d. Assessment of civil penalties; and
e. Assessment of the reasonable costs incurred by DEP to
investigating these violations.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, pursuant to Rule 4:52-1, Plaintiff respectfully
requests the following preliminary injunctive relief from all
Defendants:
a. Immediately cease accepting fill dirt, topsoil, food
waste, woodchips, grass clippings, leaves, asphalt
millings, and crushed concrete at the Property;
b. Immediately stop all topsoil processing at the Property;
c. Immediately stop all paving or repaving of any portion of
the Property with asphalt millings or the like;
d. Within ten days, provide DEP all records required to be
maintained by the Administrative Consent Order, as
requested by DEP on April 12, 2019;
e. Within 30 days, provide access to DEP and/or individuals
on behalf of DEP to conduct an inspection and sampling on
the Property to investigate the extent and
characteristics of stockpiled and buried regulated
materials, to dye-test drains and catchments to determine
outfalls, to inspect interior buildings for regulated
solid waste activities and sample interior drains, along
with any other sampling DEP deems reasonable and
necessary. DEP reserves the right to request additional
time to inspect and sample depending upon DEP’s initial
inspection and sampling of the Property.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court
issue a return date and briefing schedule for the summary action
to follow the inspection and sampling at the Property.
WHEREFORE, pursuant to the Water Pollution Control Act,
N.J.S.A. 58:10A-10(c)(1), and the Solid Waste Management Act,

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N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(d)(1), Plaintiff respectfully requests that the
court enter a permanent injunction against Defendants to:
a. Stop all deliveries of fill dirt, topsoil, food waste,
woodchips, grass clippings, leaves, asphalt millings, and
crushed concrete to the Property;
b. Remove all recyclable materials and all solid waste
buried or deposited on Property to an approved off-site
solid waste facility; and
c. File a deed notice for the Property in the form required
by the Administrative Consent Order.
DEP reserves the right to request any other permanent injunctive
relief following the results of the inspection and sampling at
the Property.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the court
grant statutory penalties as the court deems just and proper
pursuant to the Water Pollution Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10A10(e), and the Solid Waste Management Act, N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(f).
WHEREFORE, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 58:10A-10(c)(5), Plaintiff
respectfully requests an assessment of actual economic benefits
that Defendants have accrued as a result of noncompliance with
the Water Pollution Control Act.
WHEREFORE, pursuant to Paragraph 30 the Administrative
Consent Order, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the court
grant stipulated penalties for Defendants’ continued
noncompliance with the terms of the settlement.
WHEREFORE, pursuant to the Water Pollution Control Act,
N.J.S.A. 58:10A-10(c)(2), and the Solid Waste Management Act,
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N.J.S.A. 13:1E-9(d)(2), Plaintiff respectfully requests that the
court order Defendants to pay DEP’s reasonable investigatory
costs.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that the court
order any additional relief that the court may deem just and
equitable.
GURBIR S. GREWAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY

By: _______________________________
Aaron A. Love
Deputy Attorney General
Counsel for Plaintiff
New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection
Dated: August 5, 2019

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RULE 4:5-1 CERTIFICATION
I am designated as Trial Counsel for Plaintiff DEP.
I certify, to the best of my information and belief, that
the violations alleged above are not the subject of any other
action pending in any court or of a pending arbitration
proceeding, and that no other action or arbitration proceeding
is contemplated.

I further certify that there is no other party

who should be joined in this action at this time.
I certify that confidential personal identifiers have been
redacted from the document now submitted to the court, and will
be redacted from all document submitted in the future, in
accordance with Rule 1:38-7(b).
GURBIR S. GREWAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY

By: _______________________________
Aaron A. Love
Deputy Attorney General
Counsel for Plaintiff
New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection
Dated: August 5, 2019

 OCN-L-001974-19 08/05/2019 9:12:04 AM Pg 34 of 39 Trans ID: LCV20191359762

DESIGNATION OF TRIAL COUNSEL
Pursuant to Rule 4:25-4, Deputy Attorney General Aaron A.
Love is designated as trial counsel for Plaintiff in this
action.
GURBIR S. GREWAL
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY

By: _______________________________
Aaron A. Love
Deputy Attorney General
Counsel for Plaintiff
New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection
Dated: August 5, 2019

 OCN-L-001974-19 08/05/2019 9:12:04 AM Pg 35 of 39 Trans ID: LCV20191359762

VERIFICATION
STEVEN M. HULSE, by way of verification, states that:

1.

I am a State Investigator II employed by the New

Jersey Division of Law and assigned to - the Environmental
Permitting and Counseling section.
2.

I have personal knowledge of the factual allegations

contained in Paragraphs 2-4, 12-19, 32-34, 46-52, 61-63, 65, 72,

and 77 of the Verified Complaint, and I certify that these
paragraphs are true and correct.

I certify that the foregoing statements made by me are
true. I am aware that if any of the foregoing statements
by me are willfully false I am subject to punishment.

Dated.

~ ~ ~ "~ //
STEVEN M. HULSE
State Investigator II
New Jersey Division of Law

 OCN-L-001974-19 08/05/2019 9:12:04 AM Pg 36 of 39 Trans ID: LCV20191359762

VERIFICATION

BRYAN C. BARRETT, by way of verification, states that:

l. I am the Manager of the Southern Office of the Bureau
of Water Compliance Enforcement at the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection.

2. I have personal knowledge of the factual allegations
contained in Paragraphs 5?9, 23?31, 36?41, 66~68, 78?86, and 88-
94 of the Verified Complaint, and I certify that these
paragraphs are true and correct.

I certify that the foregoing statements made by me are

true. I am aware that if any of the foregoing statements
by me are willfully false I am subject to punishment.

    

Dated:   i 0? 

BRYAWARRETT 
Manager/ the Southern Office

of the Bureau of Water
Compliance Enforcement,
NJDEP

OCN-L-001974-19 08/05/2019 9:12:04 AM Pg 37 of 39 Trans ID: LCV20191359762

VERIFICATION
AARON ELLIOTT, by way of verification, states that:

1.

I am an Environmental Specialist II employed by the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of
Solid Waste Compliance & Enforcement.
2.

I have personal knowledge of the factual allegations

contained in Paragraphs 5, 35, 42-45, 54-60, 64, 68-71, 73-76,
and 87 of the Verified Complaint, and I certify that these
paragraphs are true and correct.

I certify that the foregoing statements made by me are
true. I am aware that if any of the foregoing statements
b y me are willfully false I am subject to punishment.

Dated:

~ _~~~_,y
AARON ELLIOTT

Environmental Specialist II
NJDEP Bureau of Solid Waste
Compliance & Enforcement

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Exhibit A
Numbered Key Map of Russo Property

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