Published in the Asbury Park Press
By KIRK MOORE
STAFF WRITER
DOVER TOWNSHIP -- Soil tests at the Ciba-Geigy property show the core industrial site of the former chemical plant should not be used for residential development -- but that large expanses on the property's north and west side do meet New Jersey's criteria for residential land use.
Those findings by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are not meant to be an endorsement of any future uses of the 1,350-acre Ciba property, only a confirmation that the industrial acreage should not be redeveloped with homes, EPA remedial project manager Ramona Pezzella reported at a meeting last night on progress of the Superfund cleanup project here.
But the test results are certain to figure in an ongoing debate over the future of the site.
Much of the land now owned by Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp. has been seen by various groups in Dover as potential open space or a resource for economic development -- options staunchly opposed by many neighbors and community activists, who last night insisted more cleanup work lies ahead.
In a summary of recent Superfund work, Pezzella said about 11,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated at the site in July and early September to start a bioremediation process, using naturally occurring bacteria to break down chemicals in the dirt.
That five-year process will clean 150,000 cubic yards of soil to acceptable levels so it can be used to backfill areas, including an old unlined landfill, where EPA officials most recently estimate some 42,000 drums of mostly solid chemical process wastes were interred.
That's 7,000 more barrels than were first estimated.
"The point is, we're just going to keep on (digging) until we find all the drums," Pezzella said.
Among the group of 40 to 50 people who gathered to hear Pezzella's update were homeowners and activists who reiterated their position that a modern lined landfill at the site -- still permitted to operate by the state Department of Environmental Protection -- should be closed and its drums removed.
"I think they're both responsible, the EPA and the DEP," said Bruce Anderson of the group Toxic Environment Affects Children's Health. "If it's not going to be us, it's going to be our children, or our children's children, who have to clean it up."
Pezzella stressed it's important to differentiate between the Superfund landfill and the lined disposal area; the latter has double plastic liners and a leak detection system to warn of any emerging problem, she said.
Peter Hibbard of Ocean County Citizens for Clean Water said residents should press state officials when the permit for the lined landfill comes up for renewal in a few years.
Otherwise, he said, "it tends to confuse the issue when we look at this Superfund site . . . The discussions that keep coming up at these meetings basically put Ramona at a disadvantage, because she can't deal with them."
Several neighbors expressed concern over the land use capabilities map that was based on EPA soil samples. Future use of the Ciba property has been a contentious issue in Dover. While the company plans to deed-restrict between 200 and 400 acres to keep Superfund cleanup areas off-limits to development, some municipal and civic leaders say there are clearly 700 acres or more that could be put to use.
Dover officials and Republican allies in Trenton have already made one unsuccessful bid to obtain $15 million in open space funding to purchase that acreage.
The EPA findings, that parts of the property meet standards for residential use, should not be seen as an endorsement of any land-use plans, and the EPA has no control over such local decisions, Pezzella told the group.
"Understand, there's a lot of emotion associated with this site that goes beyond sample results," Pezzella said. "The reason we did this was to restrict parts of the site" so they would not be considered for the wrong kind of redevelopment, she said.
Published in the Asbury Park Press 9/15/04
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