Fenimore Landfill in Roxbury – An Informational Guide [AUDIO, PHOTOS]

Jim received an email from Bob Schultz, the president of a local movement that is battling a landfill company in an effort to help correct issues that are currently going on in Roxbury Township in Morris County.Here is Bob's email that was sent to Jim to make Jim aware of the issue:

Good evening,

My name is Bob Schultz and I am the President of REACT (Roxbury Environmental Action Coalition). We are a local grass roots organization of 1000+ residents strong and growing every day, that is battling the Fenimore Landfill and the State agencies to right their wrongs. There is a long history of here of questionable decisions but I will not go into this now. The most important issue right now is the present, not the past. We will visit that later.

Thousands of adults and children are being affected daily by toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, soon to be Sulfer Dioxide, and god know what else. We have been battling this since Thanksgiving of 2012. The NJDEP and NJDOH are not being transparent at all and EVERYONE is scared because of the lack of information coming from these state agencies. Fear is gripping the township, the quality of life is non-existent, longtime residents are moving out of town just because of the fear of Fenimore, property values are stagnant or have decreased depending on how close they are to the landfill, five different schools including the high school have already been affected by the toxic gas, and thousands of residents health are being affected by Fenimore including the kids. No one has even done a long term study on the effects of H2S or SO2 on kids and we really do NOT want to be the first.

The NJDEP took over the landfill on an emergency basis on June 26, 2013 and the problem has gotten worse. While Governor Christie is talking about rebuilding the Seaside from the fire, giving them 15 million dollars, and no one was hurt, a thousand kids are being hurt EVERYDAY in Roxbury. Governor Christie has not made an appearance in Roxbury nor has the NJDEP or NJDOH. WHY? We are a Republican TWP of 23,000 people in a Republican County yet NOT one of our elected officials can contact the Governor for a meeting? Something really seems fishy to me!!

I know that the afternoon show today was talking about the Fenimore issue. I would like to come on your show and talk about our plight and hope to get the governments attention, solve the problem, and get all of our lives back to normal.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Sincerely,

Bob Schultz

REACT President

Bob Schultz called in to the show this morning (9/18) to get into more detail about the issues surrounding the Fenimore Landfill and the difficulties the residents are having trying to get anyone to take care of these problems.

You can listen to Jim's interview with Bob Schultz in the audio player below:

REACT has created a website that helps educate residents to these issues, as well as providing a way for residents to interact with each other and the site is also used as a resource for files and photos from the possible hazards.

Beyond the REACT website, another good way to educate yourself is to know the history of hydrogen sulfide and how it can affect you.

Below is a map that REACT has compiled which marks the areas that have been note as within a range of "smells" emanating from the landfill.

View Fenimore Land Fill, Roxbury NJ in a larger map

You can also get live readings of the hydrogen levels surrounding the areas of Fenimore Landfill as well to keep yourself up to date on the latest readings.

In response to the residents questions about the landfill, Roxbury's Mayor and Council have released a resolution.  They are seeking a public meeting with the Department of Environmental Protection and the NJ Deparment of Health, which you can read by clicking on this link:  Roxbury's Resolution 2013-269 regarding Fenimore Landfill.

**UPDATE: View what the Warren County District Landfill Gas Scrubbing System looks like and learn more about what it should be doing.

For further questions, regarding the resolution, reach out to Christopher Raths, Township Manager rathsc@roxburynj.us