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The agency issued Sinai Trucking a penalty of $527,000 and the second company, Keila Transport, a $185,000 fine. Sinai’s owner and president are Angel A. Bravo-Gomez and Anthony Gomez, respectively. Keila is owned by Gabriel Campoverde.
The companies both used the transfer station on Houses Corner Road in Sparta.
Sinai accepted at least 50,000 cubic yards of concrete, wood, tile, plastic sheeting and other construction debris at the Sparta site, then brought the material as so-called clean fill to residential sites in Fredon, Montague and Lafayette, authorities said.
Keila accepted a similar amount of waste at the Sparta site and brought it to a Fredon site also under the guise that it was clean fill, the DEP said.
"These firms benefitted financially by being paid to accept construction materials and other solid waste then deliberately misled customers by claiming it was clean fill," Commissioner Catherine McCabe said in a statement. "This behavior will not be tolerated and, in addition to penalties, the DEP is ordering the companies to remove the contaminated fill and provide refunds to customers."
"Due to recent crackdowns in illegal dumping in the New York City area and the economic advantages of fraudulently selling off waste material as clean fill, the DEP has stepped up its vigilance to ensure waste materials, often containing low-level contaminants, are not marketed and used as legitimate fill," said Richelle Wormley, the DEP's Acting Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Enforcement.
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