Toxic Materials, Lead, Possibly Seeping Into Ramapo River, Officials Say

MAHWAH, NJ — The county has allowed lead bullet casings and other potentially toxic materials to be dumped and left in large piles of soil and debris at the Law and Public Safety Training Center for about year, potentially allowing the materials to seep into the environment, including possibly, into the Ramapo River, and groundwater, officials announced Friday.

The materials were discovered at the Mary Ann Collura Memorial Pistol Range behind the training center and fire academy on the site, which is a target range for police to train at, officials said at a press conference Friday.

Township Council President Robert Hermansen said he was notified by an anonymous source Tuesday about the materials.

The materials may have been collected and dumped last year, Hermansen said. They were supposed to be removed from the site and the site remediated, a process that is supposed to occur every few years, he said.

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the materials have begun to oxidize and break down. Lead and other contaminants may be seeping into the groundwater and into nearby streams, the Ramapo River and the Ramapo Aquifer, which provides drinking water to thousands of people.

The county Office of Environmental Health has begun investigation and will test the nearby area and handle any remediation efforts, said county spokesperson Alicia D'Alessandro.

“The administration took swift and immediate action upon learning of the potential environmental issue at the Law and Public Safety Institute shooting range located in Mahwah," D'Alessandro said.

Tittel said he did not know exactly how much contaminated material exists, but said it is "tons." The materials could have been uncovered for some time, he said. The pile of dirt has been moved too, officials said.

"We know there's lead there, quite a lot of there. Now it's just trying to determine how serious the contamination is. This could have serious environmental consequences," Tittel said. "State and county government has not told the public about it."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection are looking into the extent of the contamination.

"There are people who should have known about it," Hermansen frustratingly said.

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Photos (by Daniel Hubbard:

Mahwah Council President Robert Hermansen and Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittel at a press conference Friday.

A sign outside of the gun range at the Mary Ann Collura Memorial Pistol Range at the Law and Public Safety Training Center.