New Jersey Settles 2, Initiates 5 New Environmental Enforcement Lawsuits

New Jersey officials announced five new environmental enforcement actions in communities considered overburdened under New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law and the settlement of two previous environmental justice lawsuits.

The latest lawsuits are against three gas stations in South Jersey, one gas station in North Jersey, and one gas station in Central Jersey that officials allege are responsible for gasoline contamination of soil and groundwater. and failed to abide by prior administrative orders. The two settlements resolve complaints the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) filed against Sigma Realty, Inc. in 2022 and Martin Service Center Corp. (MSCC) in 2023, owners of gas stations in Ewing and Union City, respectively.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced the actions, noting that gasoline is a pervasive pollutant in the soil and groundwater around fuel stations, threatening the environment as well as human and animal health.

“Gasoline contamination of our soil and groundwater has unfortunately become a ubiquitous issue for property owners across New Jersey, affecting rural communities, suburbs, and cities,” said Platkin.

DEP’s LaTourette said that low-income and minority communities have long borne the brunt of these contaminants.

Including these most recent complaints, the state has filed more than 80 civil environmental enforcement actions in overburdened communities since 2018, under the Murphy Administration. More than three dozen have settled or resulted in favorable court judgements, resulting in more than $31 million in monetary damages and penalties for the state. Most of the remaining actions remain in pending litigation.

The cases as outlined by state officials are:

Settled Cases

Sigma Realty
Sigma Realty and its officers, Simon and Aglaia Siliverdis, acquired a former Ewing gas station in 1993, and failed — for more than two decades — to remediate known petroleum contamination. DEP issues an administrative order and civil penalty for violations of the Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) and Brownfield and Contaminated Site Remediation Act (Brownfield Act) in 2020. DEP sued in 2022 to enforce the order, which included a penalty of $105,000. In July 2025, Sigma sold the property to a third party, which signed a separate agreement with DEP to complete the remediation and pay outstanding fees. Sigma and its owners then resolved this lawsuit by paying a $117,500 civil penalty to DEP.

MSCC
DEP sought to enforce prior orders, issued in 2020 and 2022, to remove three non-compliant underground storage tanks (USTs) at 417 12th Street in Union City. Soil and groundwater contamination caused by a gasoline discharge persisted on the commercial site for over two decades. Under a court-approved settlement, MSCC and its owners agreed to remove the USTs, remediate the contamination, and pay $125,000 in civil penalties for violations of the Underground Storage of Hazardous Substances Act, the Spill Act, and the Site Remediation Reform Act.

New Lawsuits

Maybach Assets LLC, 556-564 Springfield Avenue, Newark, Essex County

Before Maybach Assets purchased this property in 2023, it entered into a consent order with DEP in which it agreed to remediate the contaminated soil and groundwater known to be at the property. But the suit alleges it has failed to do so and shortly after receiving title to the property, Maybach stopped responding to DEP and the agreed-upon deadlines for remediation were missed. The lawsuit seeks to force Maybach to comply with the consent order, remediate the hazardous substances that discharged at the property, and pay overdue fees and civil penalties.

McFarland and Sons, 555 West Union Avenue, Bridgewater Township, Somerset County

In 1993, DEP discovered floating free-phase gasoline product and gasoline-related contaminants in groundwater monitoring wells at the property. After McFarland & Sons’ remediation efforts stalled and DEP incurred costs associated with remediating the property itself, in 2008 the parties entered into an consent order requiring McFarland & Sons to remediate the contaminated site. However, the state claims McFarland & Sons has failed to do so, and DEP has continued to incur costs associated with remediating the property. This lawsuit seeks to compel McFarland & Sons to comply with the consent order and fulfill the outstanding remedial requirements in accordance with the SRRA. This lawsuit also seeks to enforce civil penalties against McFarland & Sons, the company’s owner and president, and a former owner of the property for failing to maintain the on-site UST systems in violation of the UST Act. From 2005 through 2017, DEP issued three separate enforcement documents, which were uncontested and became final agency orders. While the defendants have since complied with the UST Act, the state says they continue to owe penalties totaling $91,200.

ARFA Enterprises,109 Delsea Drive, Sewell, Gloucester County

In 1996, three 12,000-gallon USTs were removed from the property, revealing soil contaminated by leaked gasoline. In 1997, ARFA Enterprises, Inc. (ARFA) purchased this gas station, which had been operating at the site for more than 50 years, and ARFA knew of its responsibilities to clean up the property under New Jersey law. ARFA had begun to do the work when it sold the property to its current owner in 2016. However, its remediation work then stopped, prompting DEP to sue ARFA in November 2017. ARFA soon settled that lawsuit by entering an ACO requiring it to complete remediation by May 2024. ARFA has missed this deadline, completed little additional work since DEP’s first lawsuit, and incurred more than $17,000 in unpaid fees. DEP is suing to enforce ARFA’s obligation to remediate the property and the areas off-site where contamination has migrated, recover its unpaid fees and costs incurred, and collect additional civil penalties for ARFA’s violations of its previous agreement.

Johnny’s Atlantic, 159 Bridgeton Fairton Road, Fairfield Township, Cumberland County

DEP first became aware of the contamination in January 2000, when soil analysis conducted during the removal of nine petroleum USTs revealed that gasoline had leaked from two of the tanks and from two associated above-ground dispensers. Soil samples contained concentrations of benzene and xylene-group chemicals found in gasoline above the State’s soil cleanup criteria. In June 2000, DEP advised the service station owner at the time, Howard Henigan, that the Spill Act required him to take action to remediate the contaminated soil, which he began, but did not complete. Thirteen years later, in 2014, Henigan sold the property to Wayne Griner. In January 2016, with the soil still contaminated, DEP filed a complaint against Griner. The parties resolved the case in June 2016 by executing an order requiring Griner to remediate the soil, pay past-due fees of $3,830, and make an additional settlement payment to DEP of $5,200. Since that settlement, the state says Griner has failed to fulfill all of his obligations under the consent order. DEP is asking the court to compel Griner to remediate the property, pay past-due fees, and pay civil penalties.

US Gas, 903 East Chestnut Avenue, Vineland City, Cumberland County

In 1997, gasoline contamination was discovered in the soil at the property surrounding three USTs that were owned by Ross Fogg Fuel Oil Co. Monitoring wells were subsequently installed and groundwater contamination in excess of applicable standards was discovered. After Arshi purchased the property a few years later, a second discharge of gasoline from the USTs occurred. the state says Ross Fogg Fuel Oil Co. and Arshi have failed to remediate the contamination from both discharges. Earlier in 2025, DEP secured judgments in municipal court proceedings finding them responsible for the remediation and ordering civil penalties. Additionally, in 2023, DEP issued an a order against Arshi; Surjeet Sawhney, who owns Arshi; Guru Enterprises, which operated the USTs; and Karamjeet Sodhi, who owns Guru. The state cited these individuals for various UST violations and assessed a $72,400 penalty. It was uncontested and became a final agency order. While the UST violations have been resolved, the $72,400 penalty remains unpaid. DEP is suing to enforce the orders and compel Arshi and Ross Fogg Fuel Oil to clean up the property, as well as any contamination spread off-site from the property, and to pay penalties associated with their failure to perform the remediation.

Photo: ARFA Enterprises, Inc. gas station in Gloucester County. Photo supplied by New Jersey Attorney General.

Source: New Jersey Attorney General

Topics Lawsuits Pollution New Jersey