Solar Field, Not 6,400 Homes, Proposed For Ciba-Geigy Site

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A proposal is in the works to put a 35-megawatt solar panel project on the Ciba-Geigy Superfund site that has been the subject of false claims that 6,400 homes are planned on the property.

Documents submitted to the Toms River Township construction office on behalf of EDF Renewables Distributed Solutions show a proposal to put solar panels on two of the lots that make up the site owned by BASF, the German company that owns the property.

"BASF Corporation and EDF Renewable Energy have entered into a lease agreement to potentially construct a solar energy farm on a small area of BASF’s property in Toms River," said Timothy White of River Crossing Strategy Group in Trenton, which is handling public relations for the project. "The companies are currently studying the framework needed to complete the renewable energy project."

The information on the solar proposal came at the tail end of a whirlwind 48 hours as a story on website that claimed homes would be built on the federal Superfund site stirred up fears of the childhood cancer cluster in the 1990s.

The story posted by Jersey Shore Independent claims negotiations are under way between township officials, BASF and Jack Morris, a prolific Ocean County developer, to build 6,400 homes at the site.

It prompted a press release — later withdrawn — from the Sierra Club criticizing the plan, and a statement from Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher calling the story "an outright lie" that invokes "painful memories of the cancer-cluster scare of the mid-1990s."

Kelaher went on to rip Councilman Daniel Rodrick over the claim, saying, "he should be ashamed of himself for these unscrupulous and exploitive tactics." Rodrick is one of three Republicans running for mayor, along with Councilman Maurice "Mo" Hill and former Ocean County prosecutor Joseph Coronato.

Rodrick, by phone Tuesday, denied any involvement in the website, which purports to be a news site. The site includes several political articles, all of which push Rodrick’s campaign agenda and attack his opponents, Coronato in particular.

"I have nothing to do with that website," Rodrick said, and said he was being attacked "because they aren’t doing well in the polls."

Rodrick went on to insist that the claims on the Jersey Shore Independent website were legitimate, because of the size of the Ciba site and "because mixed use is what he (Jack Morris) does."

Rodrick had previously sent screenshots of emails to Patch and to the New Jersey Globe, claiming they showed town officials were working with BASF and Morris to develop the site. The Jersey Shore Independent story erroneously claims Patch published the emails. A March 29 Patch report on Rodrick entering the mayoral race mentions the emails but they were not published in the report.

Rodrick at the time said he was getting into the race after the township’s GOP rejected his candidacy "because I refused to support their plan to develop the Ciba-Geigy Superfund site."
Rodrick at that time said the plan involved efforts to connect Morris with BASF.

In a screenshot of a Feb. 25 email from Guardian to Rodrick, Kelaher and others, Guardian writes, "We connected Jack with BASF." The email goes on to discuss issues in the tax appeal that BASF has going against the township, covering a 12-year span. "After there is a court settlement I think you’ll see interest in redeveloping 800 or so acres. We also have encouraged a solar company to engage BASF on some of the property surrounding the (contaminated) cells."

Guardian, in a phone interview Tuesday, said that connection involved Googling the information for the BASF headquarters and giving that to Morris.

"Because of the ongoing tax appeal, we are barred from any contact with BASF," Guardian said.

Rodrick admitted there is no plan that has been submitted for any housing proposal at the site, but insisted the claims of 6,400 homes are accurate, saying the industrial zoning on the parcel could be changed at a whim to accommodate residential in any redevelopment plan.

"You can’t fill 800 acres with commercial (development)," he said, insisting it will be a mixed use because the master plan allows it in areas designated for redevelopment. The master plan does include a paragraph that states: "Create Redevelopment Plans with appropriate land use standards and bulk standards for mixed-use, compact development for the Ciba-Geigy site and the Route 37 Area in Need of Redevelopment (Coates Pointe)."

The May 2018 report from the EPA on the Ciba-Geigy cleanup said the efforts to remove chemical contaminants from the site will continue for a number of years. Of the 1,200 acres at the site, more than 400 are restricted from any construction that can disturb the cap on the contaminants. An additional 780 acres have no EPA restrictions.

In a quote to the New Jersey Globe on March 19, Rodrick compared the Ciba site to the size of Hoboken, calling Toms River Republicans "greedy lunatics" and claiming they wanted development on the site of the cancer cluster.

Jersey Shore Independent also referenced the Hoboken analogy and reprinted Rodrick’s "greedy lunatics" quote. The site, registered through GoDaddy under the company's Domains by Proxy, which allows website creators to hide their identities, tries to pass itself off as a real news site, with crime news ripped from the headlines of other media sites in the area. None of the stories have bylines and there is no editorial contact listed for the site. There is no address listed for the purpose of sending letters or complaints about errors.

Ken Anderson, Toms River's construction code official, said the proposed solar farm would "occupy most of lots 6.02 and 6.03, which contain about two-thirds of the total BASF parcel," in an email that Guardian shared with Patch. White, of River Crossing Strategy Group, said the proposal is only for solar.

EDF Renewables, based in San Diego, has projects of varying kinds all over the country, including 10 solar projects in New Jersey. Work has begun on filing a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act permit application with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which White said will likely be filed in June.

Guardian said the township also is continuing on its mission of acquiring as much open space as it can to prevent massive residential developments. It was an issue raised during his interview for the business administrator position, with interest in seeking grants to stop building in the township.

"Every two weeks I give the council an update on what properties might be available,” along with possibilities for grant funds and other ways to acquire parcels, he said. "We’re just trying to preserve as much open space as we can."

Kelaher, in his denouncement of the 6,400 homes claim, said, "Councilman Daniel Rodrick has taken lying and fear-mongering to a new low. He has conjured up a story of massive residential development at the Ciba Geigy site. This outrageous statement is more than mere political exaggeration; it is an outright lie that has resurrected painful memories of the cancer-cluster scare of the mid-1990s. Councilman Rodrick should be ashamed of himself for these unscrupulous and exploitive tactics."

Kelaher reiterated that the ongoing government-mandated cleanup is expected to take decades. And the litigation with BASF, involving over a dozen years of tax appeals, means township officials cannot discuss anything with BASF.

"Simply put, the development Councilman Rodrick speaks of in his sham campaign cannot – and will not happen," Kelaher said. "To exploit this painful episode in Toms River’s history for political purposes is sick and self-serving."

Rodrick insisted the Guardian email proves otherwise. "Kelaher's denial of their plans, in the face of email proof, is reminiscent of the lies residents were told in the past," he said. Route 9 wasn't zoned for housing either, and look at it now."

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