Judge Rules Owner Of Dump Site Must Undergo Mental Health Evaluation

The owner of a 12-acre site that the state alleges illegally accepted as much as 22,000 yards of fill and waste since 2009 was ordered by a judge Wednesday to undergo a battery of tests to see if he has the mental capacity to understand court orders to stay away from and remediate the property.

Superior Court Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh ordered the series of tests for Allan Rombough Sr., owner of the Top Soil Depot property on Pompton Plains Crossroad, during a hearing in which he testified that he has difficulty with his memory.

The state wants to send Rombough to jail until he can prove he has complied with a court order to remove the alleged waste.

Rombough signed a judicial consent order in 2008 agreeing to clean up the property, but has never fully complied with it, the state says. The state Department of Environmental Protection has been fining Rombough $1,000 a day.

Michael Palmquist, an inspector with the DEP, testified that he observed Rombough and his son remove documents from storage bins in the company’s on-site facility in May 12 and place them into a garbage bin.

Rombough's hands shook as the answered questions on the witness stand. He spoke in a very low tone, almost mumbling at times.

One of Rombough’s other sons testified that his father’s memory has gotten worse and that he becomes confused easily. However, the son also testified that his father told him that the reason they were visiting the site was to retrieve documents for David DeClement, Rombough’s attorney, and remove flood-damaged items.  

One court-appointed and two independently-hired doctors will examine Rombough to determine if he has any medical condition that would not permit him to comply with the court orders. He must pay a $262,000 bond by April 25. A capacity hearing will be held April 26. That proceeding will be closed.

“This is outrageous. Absolutely outrageous,” said McVeigh, noting that the problems at the site are escalating, rather than being fixed.

Allan Rombough Jr., who is also barred from the site, was supposed to appear at the hearing. DeClement said he could not attend because he is enrolled in a substance abuse rehabilitation program. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.