Companies Must Pay for New Jersey School Site Pollution

Two companies have been ordered to pay the state more than $860,000 spent to clean up a polluted gas station property acquired for school construction in Elizabeth.

Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. and Power Test Realty must compensate the Schools Development Authority.

A judge ruled that Getty and Power Test are liable for petroleum-related soil and groundwater contamination at the Newark Avenue property.

The Schools Development Authority acquired the property through condemnation in October 2003.

In 2004, separate testing by both Getty and the state revealed the presence of various hazardous substances in the soil and groundwater including benzene, xylene, ethyl benzene and methyl tertiary ether.