CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — A Superior Court judge in Camden ruled Tuesday’s unanimous City Council vote to shut down the EMR scrapyard did not comply with state laws.
The judge ruled Wednesday that EMR can conditionally resume some activities at its facility in Camden, though not full operations. It must also prove the newly installed fire suppression system works as it should.
Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen said regardless of how it all works out legally, the status quo with dangerous fires forcing people from their homes is unacceptable.
“The big picture for me is I would like for anything that has happened in the past not to have happened,” he said.
Council’s vote to reject EMR’s proposal to keep the facility open comes after at least a dozen fires at the facility in a five-year period. The latest fire on May 29 prompted city officials to suspend the company’s junkyard license.
EMR’s attorneys argued the company was losing millions of dollars and would have to lay off hundreds of employees if the facility was closed.
This legal battle isn’t finished yet, as there’s another hearing scheduled for August 17th, Carstarphen said the community deserves better and the fires have to stop.
“You have to do what’s right,” he said. “You had too many times to figure this out.”
