Dive Brief:

• A New Jersey state appeals court ruled that the state Department of Protection (DEP) surpassed its authority and had no judicial approval to take control of the Fenimore landfill in Roxbury, NJ.
• The DEP commissioner issued an emergency order to seize the landfill on June 26, 2013, yet cited hydrogen sulfide readings from weeks prior, rendering these readings inadmissible as Governor Chris Christie signed the Legacy Landfill law on June 26.
• The next move for the DEP is to bring its case to the Law Division of the Superior Court. The agency must prove that an emergency environmental situation was present on June 23, then the burden of proof will lie with the site owners, Strategic Environmental Partners LLC. 

Dive Insight:

Since the takeover at Fenimore, the DEP has done a massive amount of work at the site: flares were installed to burn off gases, a collection system was established and it was planned to cap 19 acres.

Complaints about the landfill began in 2012, as unpleasant odors become increasingly noticeable. A string of issues arose at the site, prompting the state takeover in June of 2013.