A judge in Camden County has overturned the recent decision to shut down the recycling company accused of a dozen fires in recent years.
An attorney for EMR told NBC10 on Wednesday, July 8 at the company must follow certain guidelines that the judge laid out and then will reopen.
This comes one day after Camden City Council rejected a proposal to allow EMR to resume operations at its Waterfront South facility.
The council unanimously voted against the proposal, which came weeks after the city suspended EMR’s junkyard license and ordered the facility to cease operations following a fire on May 29. Company officials said the fire was likely sparked by a lithium-ion battery. The fire burned for more than two hours, sending thick smoke across the area before firefighters brought it under control.
According to city officials, it was at least the 13th fire reported at the facility since 2020.
The Department of Code Enforcement issued the suspension effective June 4, citing “public nuisance conditions,” according to a city spokesperson. The order halted EMR’s scrapyard and shredding operations. EMR later challenged the suspension in court.
In court, EMR said that they have been forced to lay off employees after losing $4.1 million in revenue, according to court documents.
The legal and regulatory pressure has continued to mount. In January, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office sued EMR, alleging the company’s repeated fires “filled nearby streets with smoke and air pollution, creating an ongoing public nuisance that has severely harmed the health and well-being of Camden’s residents.”
In March, another fire broke out aboard an EMR-operated barge carrying scrap metal in the Delaware Bay near Reedy Island in New Castle County, Delaware.
Scrap metal safety bill signed into law
On Wednesday, July 8, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed Bill A2401 into law that will require scrap metal recycling company to adhere to stricter safety guidelines.
“This bill is for the residents of Waterfront South, who have feared for their health and safety for far too long,” Assemblyman William Moen (D-Camden, Gloucester) said in a statement. “It’s for communities up and down the state where facilities have normalized toxic smoke and air quality alerts. I thank Governor Sherrill for recognizing the critical significance of this legislation. With the stroke of a pen, we are protecting our neighborhoods and advancing public health.”
The bill will have companies install equipment that can detect heat which could find hot spots before they turn into fires as well as create fire safety plans that will be available to the public and local fire departments.
Also, any facilities that have metal piles that are more than 200 tons will be forced to install a fire suppression system within 48 months as those with 500 tons would have 24 months.
This bill also includes a limit on how high piles of materials can get.