They’re living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Railcars full of garbage are still skeeving out residents in Somerset County, N.J., who have been dealing with their odor and the flies and mosquitoes they attract for five months.
Residents of Manville said their quality of life has diminished since April, and the problem has only gotten worse, with the dozens of railcars remaining on the tracks for a week or more without moving.
“We’re hiding in our homes, basically,” Maribel Restrepo, who has a direct view of the tracks from her home, told NJ.com.
“It’s embarrassing when you invite people over and they go home early because they’re sick from smelling garbage.”
On Aug. 18, Restrepo even spoke to the Manville Board of Health to voice her concerns about her family’s health, according to the website.
During the meeting, the county said it had been sending an inspector to the site daily, but halted the checkups since they hadn’t received complaints.
“Nothing has been done, and it’s frustrating,” Manville Mayor Richard Onderko told Pix11 in June.
The track is owned by Florida-based CSX Transportation, which is responsible for a network of approximately 20,000 to 21,000 miles around the country.
The company’s media director, Austin Staton, assured NJ.com that they’ve been working with Onderko to limit the length of time the cars sit there and look into if they can be relocated.
In a June statement to News12, CSX explained that the cars are “part of routine interchange operations” at the Manville rail yard.
“In recent days, we experienced temporary delays while implementing an operational change in how these shipments are moved through the area. As a result, some railcars remained in place longer than intended,” it added, while going on to apologize for the smelly situation.
“We understand that extended dwell times, combined with recent heat, may have contributed to odors, and we regret the impact this may have had on nearby residents. CSX is committed to being a good neighbor, and whenever operationally feasible, we strive to limit the impact of our operations on the communities we serve.”
