Hear Updates On Ciba-Geigy Superfund Site Plan Fight In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — It's been five months since representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were blasted by Toms River residents over a proposed settlement that would turn 1,000 acres of the former Ciba-Geigy site into a park.

Since that March session at Toms River High School North, the state DEP has been silent about the proposed settlement with BASF that it announced on a Monday in early December, initially offering just 30 days for the public to comment.

That initial announcement of the natural resources damages settlement, which would allow BASF Corp. to retain 250 acres, set off intense criticism and complaints from Toms River officials, who were informed that discussions were happening but had very little input into the process before DEP officials told them of the proposed settlement.

The NJDEP has been silent since the March meeting, with no indication of the status of the proposed settlement.

Save Barnegat Bay, which held a public comment session at Toms River North in January while urging the state to hold a public hearing on the matter, is hosting a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 17, at Toms River Town Hall to update residents on its efforts to fight the proposed settlement.

The updates will be part of the organization's annual meeting, Save Barnegat Bay said in announcing the meeting, which is set for 6:30 p.m. in the L. Manuel Hirshblond Meeting Room on the second floor at 33 Washington St. in Toms River.

"We’ve been doing our homework, tirelessly going through decades of files and consulting with the leading experts on (Natural Resources Damages) settlements to make sure that the final chapter of this environmental tragedy is written with truth and justice for our community," the Save Barnegat Bay announcement said. "Please join us for this year's annual meeting and meet our team of experts as we focus on the impact of the damages done to our natural environment."

"The truth dies in darkness, you can help us bring it into the light!" the announcement said.

BASF Corporation, a German chemicals company, purchased the site that was declared an EPA Superfund site in 1983 after toxins buried in 55-gallon drums on the property were found to be leaching into groundwater.

BASF which has owned the property since 2009, would have to pay the NJDEP $100,000 under the proposed settlement, which DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette has said would cover the state's costs involved in the settlement.

LaTourette, in an interview with Patch in January, said the settlement was not about further punishing BASF but about protecting the groundwater in perpetuity. Read more: Proposed Ciba Settlement 'Not About Punishment': DEP Commissioner

Read more:

• Ciba-Geigy Site Settlement Would Preserve 1,000 Acres As Open Space
• Ciba-Geigy Settlement Can't Overlook Cancer Cluster: Toms River Mayor
• Ciba-Geigy Proposal Blasted On Lack Of Toms River Input, Transparency

Information about the ongoing EPA-led remediation at the Ciba-Geigy site can be read here.

Read more about the Ciba-Geigy site:

• Reflections On 'Chemical Town'
• Book Explores Toms River's Toxic History With Industrial Pollution
• Ciba-Geigy Corp. Proposes Multimillion-Dollar Settlement