By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Lawrence Township has become embroiled in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court over reimbursement costs for cleaning up contamination on the abandoned Saturn Chemical Co. property, located on New York Avenue near the Lawrence-Trenton border.
Saturn Chemical Co., Poly Sat, Inc. and Darryl Manuel — the former president of Saturn Chemical Co. and the current president of the Philadelphia-based Poly Sat, Inc. — are suing Lawrence Township and Mercer Wrecking and Recycling Co. to contribute toward the cleanup costs, according to the lawsuit filed in September.
The two companies and Mr. Manuel are in turn being sued by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for reimbursement of the $1.3 million that it has cost the federal agency to clean up contaminated soil on the Saturn Chemical Co. site. Poly Sat, Inc. is the successor company to Saturn Chemical Co.
The Saturn Chemical Co. plant, which produced resins for ink and paint, was abandoned after it was destroyed by fire in 1981. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection discovered contaminants on the site after the plant was closed.
Mercer Wrecking and Recycling Co. is involved in the lawsuit because it was hired by Lawrence Township to demolish several abandoned buildings and above-ground tanks on the 6-acre Saturn Chemical Co. property at 1600 New York Avenue in 2002.
The lawsuit filed against Lawrence Township and Mercer Wrecking grew out of an earlier one — filed in July by the EPA against Saturn Chemical Co., Poly Sat, Inc. and Mr. Manuel — that seeks to have the two companies and Mr. Manuel reimburse the federal government for the $1.3 million cost to clean up the site.
The September lawsuit filed against the township and Mercer Wrecking claims that in 2002, “Mercer, under contract with, and under the direction of, the Township, disturbed, improperly handled, damaged, and compromised the integrity of the (three) tanks.”
It also claims that “the Township and Mercer abandoned the tanks after damaging them” and did not take “appropriate measures to secure the tanks against leakage.” Some of the contents of the tanks leaked into the soil.
The lawsuit filed against the township and Mercer Wrecking claims that in 2001, the DEP asked the EPA to determine if the property needed to be cleaned up. The EPA responded that it did not need to be cleaned up.
But in 2002, Lawrence Township hired Mercer Wrecking and Recycling Co. to demolish the buildings and storage tanks because small fires had been set in one of the buildings and it appeared that someone was living in it.
Then in 2003, the DEP again asked the EPA to examine the Saturn Chemical site to determine whether it was eligible to be cleaned up under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
The EPA determined in 2004 that the cleanup was necessary because the three tanks had leaked hazardous materials into the soil. The EPA cleaned up the property at a cost of $1.3 million and in July 2008, it filed a lawsuit against Saturn Chemical Co., Poly Sat, Inc. and Mr. Manuel to recoup the cost.
In turn, Saturn Chemical Co., Poly Sat, Inc. and Mr. Manuel are suing Lawrence Township and Mercer Wrecking and Recycling Co. for reimbursement of the $1.3 million that the EPA is seeking from them — and that is the basis for the September lawsuit filed against the township and Mercer Wrecking.
Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun declined to comment.

