Boonton, NJ
Environmental and natural resources Lawyer at Boonton, NJ
Practice Areas: Environmental and Natural Resources, Military Law ... +7 more
OUTCOME: Financial Settlement
BP AMOCO was responsbie for petroleum contamination at a site where the company had left behind a "ghost" tank that leaked petroleum product affecting both the ground water and soil at the site. The a ... ttorney was able to negotiate a financial settlement with BP AMOCO without costly litigation.
OUTCOME: Settled for Environmental Response Costs
The case involved indoor air, soil and ground water contamination at the Former Raritan Arsenal, Edison, New Jersey, a Formerly Utilzed Defense Site (FUDS). Six tenants of a building, including a chi ... ld day care center, were investigated by NJDEP for indoor air contamination. When unacceptable results were obtained from the sampling, the NJDOH and NJDEP considered closing the day care center and issued a Spill Act Directive to the owner of the site and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The owner incurred response costs to investigate the site, clean up the soil and install an indoor venting system make it safe for the tenants. The owner incurred damages in doing so. The claim proceeded against the United States Army for damages. Thecase was settled with the United States Department of Justice for the full extent of the owner's response costs including eligible legal fees.
OUTCOME: Settlement and Natural Resource Damages Release
Mr. Clarke represented a client who was the prior owner of the Syncon Resins Superfund site located in Kearny, New Jersey. The site is located adjacent to a major river in the area. Illegal dredge s ... poil dumping occurred at the site and Mr. Clarke retained expert witnesses to distinguish the contamination attributable to the many PRPs on the site, from the residual contamination left behind by the dredge spoils. Mr. Clarke negotiated a favorable settlement after its analysis of the dredge spoil contamination was aired, including a release from all future Natural Resource Damages claims related to the Passaic River and Newark Bay.
OUTCOME: Stay of Tax Foreclosure/Sheriff's Sale
This case was started on an order to show cause in the Chancery Division to stop the foreclosure of plaintiff's right to redeem tax sale certificates held by defendant for a former dye manufacturing fa ... cility located in Jersey City, NJ. The plaintiff successfully argued that due to public policy reasons, the foreclosure of the tax liens and the entry of a writ of execution to conduct the sheriff's sale was unfair, inequitable and harmful and should be stayed. The public policy reasons included using the equity in the property to repay USEPA for the cleanup of the site, the repayment of pension debt to the PBGC and the direct payment of pension monies to non-union employees through the divestiture of the property under a market sale. The plaintiff was granted the stay and seeks to sell the property to redeem the tax liens.
OUTCOME: Settlement/Negotiation of ACO
Mr. Clarke is currently representing a clean soil stockpile operator in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The site is located on the banks of the Woodbridge Creek and contains over 1,000,000 cubic yards of stoc ... kpiled soils that NJDEP has characterized as illegal fill. The owner and operator of the site were issued numerous violations of the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act and the Waterfront Development Act, and has received notices of violation for solid waste, storm water, and NJPDES regulations. The site also was the subject of a criminal investigation for hazardous waste violations. Mr. Clarke has successfully defended the client with regards to the violations and has negotiated an Administrative Consent Order allowing the client to correct the alleged violations in a fair and equitable manner. Mr. Clarke is also negotiating with the Township of Woodbridge regarding the redevelopment of the property into a renewable energy incubator site with connections to a major New Jersey research university.
OUTCOME: Motion to Amend Judicial/Adminstrative Orders
Mr. Clarke is representing a clean soil stockpile operator in Bound Brook, New Jersey within the Flood Hazard Area of the Raritan River. NJDEP alleges an illegal operation on the grounds of an industr ... ial park near the intersections of two major railroads. NJDEP has issued two administrative orders and has pursued an order in New Jersey Superior Court for the immediate removal of the soils from the site. Moreover, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has claimed that the location of the soil stockpile will interfere with the Green Brook Flood Control Project. Mr. Clarke has successfully defended the client against the initial administrative orders and is currently involved in a motion to reopen the judicial order to allow for additional permitting and a more lenient removal timetable. The firm has also assisted the client with its local land use approvals and appeals at the Site.
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