Illegal Dumping Crackdown

    
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s crackdown on illegal dumping on state recreational properties resulted in 34 arrests throughout the state.

The state is partnering with Camden, Trenton and Secaucus for a “Don’t Waste Our Open Space” program to combat unlawful dumping, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin announced last week. A new mobile application has been launched as part of the program, allowing visitors at state recreational areas to report dumping sites and the contents of the trash at the locations and send photos so the DEP can address the debris and launch an investigation.

All activities are posted on www.stopdumping.nj.gov, which serves as a hub for the program.

“We hope getting more people to become aware of illegal dumping and to take action will help act as a deterrent for those who think they get away with a crime that directly impacts the environment, wildlife and people who enjoy the outdoors,” Martin said. “We want illegal dumpers to know that there will be consequences for their actions.”

Illegal dumping, which includes everything from unlawful disposal of construction debris and old TVs and computers to the dumping of car parts and tires — and even entire vehicles — has been a growing problem in the state’s vast natural holdings in all 21 counties in recent years.

Nearly all of the state’s more than 170 publicly owned tracts, including state parks, state forests, wildlife management areas, marinas, and natural lands and preserves, have been impacted by illegal dumping. The sites account for 813,000 acres of state-preserved open space.

Some recent enforcement actions in the illegal dumping crackdown include:

• Jefferson Oliveira, 44, of Hammonton was charged with illegal dumping and transportation of solid waste after an investigation of a dump site in the Atsion section of Wharton State Forest

led to a company owned by Oliveira called Solid Concrete Walls, in Berlin. State Park

Police Detective Brian Calloway, Officer Andrew Hambleton

and Officer John Kline investigated.

• Christopher Platt, 21, of Millville, was charged with illegal transportation and dumping of solid waste after auto parts and household debris were found at Belleplain State Forest

in Dennis Township.

• Kevin Mitchell, 53, and Diane Mitchell, 57, of Bridgeton, were charged with illegal dumping after household waste found at Stow Creek State Park.

• Lamar Langston, 32, of Cape May, was charged with illegal dumping after 10 garbage bags of household debris were found at Cape Island Wildlife Management Area.

• William E. Wright, 21, of Petersburg, Upper Township, was charged with illegal dumping after three large construction debris piles were found in two locations of Peaslee Wildlife Management Area in Cumberland County.

  Marta Garay, 38, of Pemberton, was charged with illegal transport and dumping of solid waste after household debris and several boxes of books were found at Double Trouble State Park in Lacey Township.

• Mitchell Storozynsky, 50, of Pemberton, was charged with illegal dumping after household debris was found at Brendan Byrne State Forest.

• Bill Howell, of Washington, D.C., was charged with illegal dumping and dumping of solid waste after an investigation of a relative’s household debris at Kittatinny State Park.

• Mark Sperbeck, 55, of Blackwood, was charged with abandonment of a vessel and illegal disposal of solid waste after officers investigated a discarded boat near the Paradise Lakes campground in Wharton State Forest.

• Jodie Ballard, 64, of Princeton, was charged with illegal dumping after his household trash was found dumped at the Millstone Aqueduct in Plainsboro. Ballard pled guilty and was fined $2,500.

• Joseph Protzo, 50, of Bushkill, Pennsylvania, was charged with illegal dumping after household and construction debris were found on Burnt Meadow Road in Ringwood State Park.

• Matthew Judson, 51, of Hackettstown, was charged with illegal dumping after an investigation of two piles of household debris found in Stephens State Park, off Waterloo Valley Road.

• Lucas W. Anderson, 18, of Highland Lakes, was charged with illegal dumping after construction debris was found in Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Vernon. Anderson pled guilty in municipal court and paid a $1,000 fine.

• Joshua Ganter, 39, of Hackettstown, was charged with a second offense of illegal dumping of tree clippings at Rockport Wildlife Management Area in Hackettstown. Ganter pled guilty to the charges and paid a $750 fine.

• Thomas Ziniewicz, 43, of Newton, was charged with illegal dumping after contents of a recreational vehicle were found at Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area. Ziniewicz pled guilty in municipal court and paid a $506 fine.

• Christopher Both, 19, and Adam Klein, 19, both of Allentown, were charged with illegal dumping after depositing 38 paint cans at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Both pled guilty and each paid a $625 fine.

For additional instructions on how to use the mobile application, visit www.nj.gov/dep/stopdumping/instructions.htm.

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