Ciba-Geigy Settlement Hearing Set For March In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has scheduled a public meeting on its proposed natural resources damage settlement with BASF for March 13.

The session, set for 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Toms River High School North on Old Freehold Road, will include additional information about the proposed settlement, NJDEP officials said Friday.

NJDEP officials also will be on hand to take questions from the public about the proposed settlement, which was initially announced Dec. 5 and has subjected the department to intense criticism in the days since.

NJDEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, in an interview Friday, said the criticism has resulted because the department "has not done a good job" of explaining the purpose of the settlement. That purpose, he said, is not to punish BASF or Ciba-Geigy further for the chemical dumping that poisoned groundwater at the site.

"This is about making sure a groundwater resource is protected in perpetuity," he said.

In addition, NJDEP officially announced the time for written public comment to be submitted on the proposal has been extended to April 5. That extension initially was revealed by Save Barnegat Bay, which held a public forum Jan. 25 to gather comment on the proposal out of frustration in a lack of a public session by NJDEP.

"We hope that this extension of the comment period and opportunity for direct engagement with DEP officials will provide members of the public with additional opportunities to learn more about the assessment and proposed restoration of injured natural resources, and to ask questions about the proposed settlement," said DEP Deputy Commissioner Sean D. Moriarty, who was present at the Save Barnegat Bay forum.

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