next time that site catches on fire the city should just let it burn to the ground. Added bonus: no pre-construction demolition required for new condos.

Last time I drove by that plant, I saw several DEP Agents in yellow jackets inspecting the place.

Two weeks ago there was a fire there I saw from the Turnpike.

There are huge piles of mulch (I mean 2-stories high) and you can smell the joint from the Turnpike.

I'd think with all the development going on there the days of the stinker should be numbered, but who knows.

Quote:
Now that's some pullitzer class writin boy. And no byline? That first sentence grabs your attention by the lapels and shoves your face in the story "like a tarantula on a birthday cake", "like a fart in an elevator", "like the pimp on Easter morning", "like a puddle of puke on a PATH train seat", "like a Grove St. bum in a Brioni suit", "like a touch football game at Hamilton park", "like a, like a, like..... I can't think of any more likes. Can you? That's why I'm not pulling down the big bucks over at the JJ.

SUFFOCATING DILEMMA

Jersey Journal -- March 14

T he smell came wafting through K Sherbetdjian's Whiton Street bedroom as softly and as unwanted as a burglar tip-toeing across the floor, its pungent odor ripping him out of his peaceful sleep.

"I couldn't breathe," said Sherbetdjian, a five-year resident of the Lafayette section of Jersey City.

The familiar dank smell emanated from the large, smoldering piles of decomposing wood chips a few blocks away at the Reliable Wood Products facility, which makes mulch from the wooden pallets used in the shipping of materials for its neighboring paper recycling plant.

The controversial site has been the scene of at least 10 fires already this year, and the plant's suffocating smell has hundreds of residents in the nearby neighborhoods pleading for relief, including two who moved out because of the smell.

"It's a real problem. The smell is everywhere," said Angus Vail, a member of the Lafayette Neighborhood Action Committee, which recently sent a petition with 236 signatures to state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

The long-standing issue raises serious questions about the city's ability - and willingness - to deal with its industrial past as demand for residential development spreads.

The Reliable Wood facility sits within the Morris Canal Redevelopment Zone, first adopted by the City Council in 1999. The redevelopment plan accommodates the Reliable Paper Recycling plant, which was already there, as long as the operation continues to take place indoors.

After the adoption of the redevelopment plan, the company expanded its operations to include the mulch business and created Reliable Wood Products.

The outdoor expansion clearly runs afoul of the city's zoning regulations, but city officials say they can't enforce the rules because they lack jurisdiction over class B recycling centers, which are the province of the state.

However, that opinion has never been tested in court, and city officials are basing their lack of power on a letter from the DEP submitted by the company - and that letter deals with another plant in another town.

The owner of the plant, Nick Vene, refused to comment for this column.

City sources say they have not abdicated their responsibility, pointing to numerous fire code violations that have been issued. But residents deserve more than just a few inspections related to fire codes, since such violations ignore the quality-of-life issues that are at the center of the controversy.

The city needs to investigate the zoning problems and pursue violations under the state's Public Nuisance Act, which gives municipalities broad powers to abate these types of activities.

In fact, city officials can't even confirm whether the plant was ever issued a certificate of occupancy.

Perhaps the city can follow the lead of the state.

The DEP has leveled tens of thousands of dollars in fines for, among other things, odors, operating equipment without approved air pollution permits and expanding the facility without the required permits. But the state does not appear to have the authority to shut it down because of zoning violations.

The company is disputing the violations the state did issue and the matter is set to go before an administrative law judge, according to the DEP.

The Hudson County Health Commission has also issued a number of fines related to air pollution.

Tomorrow, officials from the city, county and state are expected to meet to compare notes and develop a strategy.

Perhaps they could also figure out who's in charge.