GOSHEN – A Sussex, New Jersey man pled guilty on Wednesday to six counts of unlawful disposal of solid waste as misdemeanors for his role in illegally dumping over 20,000 cubic yards of non-exempt construction and demolition debris at six different locations in the Town of Warwick. It is estimated more than 1,000 truckloads of C & D debris were illegally dumped at those sites between January 2015 and May 2016.
At the time Joseph Wallace, 50, pled guilty in Warwick Town Court, he admitted that at each site, he knowingly released more than 70 cubic yards of solid waste into the environment.
The illegal dumping occurred after Wallace had contacted the property owners at five of the sites and received permission to bring in clean fill. Wallace then contacted haulers that brought in the solid waste to the sites. At the sixth and largest site, Wallace sought to enter into a lease agreement to use the property for a mulch business, and then arranged for the illegal dumping.
In addition to containing non-exempt fill that included wood, plastics, pieces of carpeting, wiring, and other debris, coal ash was also present in the C & D debris. That coal ash contained other contaminants including lead, mercury and other metals.
Under terms of the plea agreement, Wallace will be sentenced to a three-year term of probation if he established a New York residence before sentencing. If he fails to do so, he will receive concurrent sentences of 45 days in the Orange County. Sentencing will be held in November.
