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Closing A Plant Will Be Costly To Companies If Proposed Bill Passes In NJ

By David Madden

WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (CBS) - A bill to be introduced next week in the New Jersey legislature could prove rather costly to industrial firms that close up in the name of economy.

Standing in front of the former Sunoco refinery in West Deptford, Assemblyman John Burzichelli is among those who want the company to pay for the loss of some 500 jobs.

"Take away the industrial process and we have a scarred landscape which presents very limited use."

A proposal he co-sponsors would divert any property tax refunds to DEP to pay for remediation not just by Sunoco, but any industry that closes up and moves out. Estimates are Sunoco's refunds could top $20 million.

But company officials say their tax appeals have been ongoing, and the Eagle Point facility is not closed -- it's just being converted into a storage facility. Two hundred people work there now and remediation is already being discussed with the state.

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