Court Date Set for Top Soil Depot Case

A trial date was set today to determine how much in damages Allen Rombough Sr., Allen Rombough Jr. and several trucking companies could be forced to pay the state for allegedly dumping and storing contaminated dirt and fill at the Top Soil Depot site.

Superior Court Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh set a date of Dec. 12 to determine how many of more than 20 trucking companies are responsible for and just how culpable the Romboughs are for what has occurred on the 12-acre site over many years.

The state alleges that the trucking companies and Romboughs knew of the illegal dumping occurring on site. 

The defendants will have an opportunity to challenge the state’s evidence against them at the trial, said state Deputy Attorney General Robert Kinney, who is representing the Department of Environmental Protection, in the case.

The defendants can also challenge how much in damages they could be forced to pay if found guilty.

Kinney said the state and defendants have made a lot of progress towards developing a final site clean up and settlement plan, but have not agreed on a final course of action.

McVeigh appointed a temporary guardian July 12 to represent Rombough Sr. earlier this year.

Rombough is being evaluated to determine whether he knowingly defied a court order to remain off the property. A DEP inspector caught Rombough and his son, Alex, trespassing on the site May 12, the day before a court hearing was to occur. The inspector testified at an earlier hearing that he witnessed the pair throwing away sensitive documents that day.

A final hearing to determine Rombough Sr.’s competency will be held Sept. 26. McVeigh may appoint a permanent guardian for Rombough Sr., who allegedly suffers from Parkinson's Disease, for the duration of the trial.

The state has wanted the elder Rombough incarcerated until he complies with a previous court order to remove all the fill and kaofin from the site, which is located in a flood plain at the confluence of the Passaic, Pompton and Pequannock Rivers on Pompton Plains Crossroad.