The New Jersey Attorney General and Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection filed a lawsuit against the owner of a metal scrapyard in Camden, the site of a massive fire that forced residents to evacuate because of smoke and pollution in February 2025.
The public nuisance suit, filed in Superior Court, alleges that there have been at least 12 hazardous fires at facilities operated by EMR Advanced Recycling, LLC, EMR USA Holdings, Inc., EMR Eastern, and Camden Iron & Metal (collectively known as EMR).
The 152-page lawsuit alleges that the fires are a direct result of EMR operations, including maintaining tall piles of materials that create a high risk of fires. It asks the court to order EMR to take immediate action to address conditions.
“It is outrageous that EMR has failed to correct the dangerous conditions at its facilities in Camden—conditions that have resulted in over a dozen hazardous fires in recent years that threaten the lives and health of Camden residents,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement.
On February 24, 2025, a four-alarm fire at the EMR facility on 1400 South Front Street in Camden, burned for eight hours, sending plumes of dark smoke over the area.
Officials said approximately 100 residents were forced to evacuate and reported symptoms from smoke inhalation, including nausea, headaches, difficulty breathing, burning eyes, and throat irritation.
“Neighbors of EMR should not have to live in fear of the industrial business next door to them, wondering whether the air is safe to breathe and the company values its role in the community as much as its profits,” DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said in a statement.
The complaint alleges that EMR has a long history of violations that have resulted in fires at its facilities across the state, including Newark, Bayonne, Camden and on a barge on the Delaware Bay.
The action by the state follows other lawsuits by local environmental and community groups like the Center for Environmental Transformation and Eastern Environmental Law Center.
