Court orders Wallace's assets used for cleanup

The owner of the Silver Spruce Drive dump site has lost control of his assets as Vernon Township seeks the site’s cleanup.

In a decision in State Superior Court on Tuesday, Judge Maritza Herdote Byrne has appointed a received to identify and marshall Joseph Wallace’s assets to hire and oversee the remediation of the contaminated property.

The decision also says the receiver will have the authority to contractually bind Wallace’s assets to any remediation plans.

The receiver will be named in a separate order.

“While it is rare for courts to appoint receivers, it is also rare for three court orders to go entirely ignored,” Byrne wrote in the decision.

The state Department of Environmental Protection’s request for fines and penalties related to Wallace’s non compliance has been denied until assets for remediation have been identified by the receiver or further order of the court.

PAID President Martin O’Donnell called the decision a “win.”