Honda dealer cited by DEP but disputes the allegations
HAMILTON » Hamilton Honda has been hit with a dozen environmental violations, including allegations its boiler systems emitted too much carbon monoxide.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection conducted a standard compliance inspection at the dealership April 9 and discovered Hamilton Honda failed to comply with air emission standards and failed to keep daily logs documenting boiler and furnace operations, according to a recently issued notice of violation.
Carbon monoxide, also known as CO, is an “odorless, colorless gas that can kill you,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under New Jersey’s environmental rules and regulations, businesses like Hamilton Honda must properly maintain used oil space heaters and monitor their CO emissions to ensure they comply with strict standards.
It is permissible for heating systems to emit minuscule amounts of CO, but it must not exceed 100 parts per million by volume, dry basis, hourly average, corrected to 7 percent oxygen to comply with the New Jersey Administrative Code. Hamilton Honda is in hot water for exceeding that standard on two separate occasions, the state alleges.
Located off Route 130, Hamilton Honda is a highly successful dealership coowned by former New York Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead. One of the dealership’s boilers emitted CO at a concentration of 101.4 parts per million by volume on a dry basis (ppmvd) on Aug. 15, 2016, and another boiler emitted CO at a concentration of 103.7 ppmvd on Sept. 13, 2017, according to DEP’s notice of violation dated June 27.
DEP is giving Hamilton Honda 30 grace days to address the alleged violations, but the dealership says it can refute DEP’s allegations of excessive CO emissions and has documented proof its boilers have always complied with New Jersey’s environmental standards.
“We feel we are in 100 percent compliance,” Jeffrey Mills, director of Hamilton Honda, said Thursday in an interview with The Trentonian. “We pride ourselves on having one of the cleanest shops on the East Coast.”
Mills produced a series of invoices and other documentation showing that Hamilton Honda spent thousands of dollars to properly maintain its Clean Burn waste oil heater systems in 2016 and 2017. PetroChoice, a licensed distributor of Clean Burn boilers and furnaces, has conducted ongoing preventative maintenance on Hamilton Honda’s heating systems and confirmed the boilers met and never exceeded the carbon monoxide standard, according to company invoices and receipts.
DEP’s inspection summary report confirms the dealership had provided inspectors with combustion adjustment records for 2016 and 2017 and also provided used oil heater maintenance records. Those records, as shown to The Trentonian, indicate Hamilton Honda did not exceed the CO emissions standard, which suggests DEP erred on that citation. DEP did not independently test Hamilton Honda’s boiler emissions for compliance, according to Mills, so it is not clear how DEP found the dealership out of compliance.
The Trentonian contacted a spokesman within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection asking how DEP determined the boilers exceeded the 100 ppmvd standard at Hamilton Honda and whether DEP made any errors in the factual basis for that particular violation.
“Situations such as this must undergo normal investigatory procedures,” DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said Thursday via email. “The Notice of Violation was issued to warn the company of the noted violations, provide an opportunity to voluntarily investigate the matter and take corrective actions. The facility should respond formally to the DEP within the timeframes noted within the NOV.”
With Hamilton Honda having clear evidence of emissions compliance, “We feel we are good,” Mills said, adding he believes DEP will reach the same conclusion upon further review.
In addition to the alleged emissions violation, DEP also found Hamilton Honda to be out of compliance in 11 other areas related to recordkeeping. The dealership failed to maintain a daily hours of operation log for five boilers and four furnace units, failed to maintain daily records concerning the hours of operation of used oil heaters and failed to record the determination of the presence of visible emissions during the adjustment of the combustion process, according to the notice of violation.
Mills concedes Hamilton Honda was not keeping daily logs and records on the boiler usage. “We were unaware of that requirement,” he said. “We are on it now.”
DEP requires facilities like Hamilton Honda to keep daily records on boiler usage. Even in the summer when the heating systems are turned off, the car dealership must still log and maintain records of the boilers being used for zero hours on those days.
Hamilton Honda is now maintaining daily logs on the heating systems, Mills said. Although the car dealership disputes DEP’s finding of noncompliance regarding CO emissions, Mills said he appreciates the state inspecting and enforcing the rules and regulations on all Garden State businesses.
“It is fair,” he said. “Everybody has to do it.”
Mills said Hamilton Honda prides itself on being a community-oriented business with a reputation for cleanliness and good service. “I enjoy working for a company that does the right thing,” he said of the dealership that opened in May 2009. “We plan on being here for a long time.”
Carl Viviani of DEP’s enforcement unit is listed as the lead investigator in the enforcement case against Hamilton Honda. As of Friday, the status on all 12 cited violations remains pending.