{"id":21475,"date":"2023-01-27T03:09:57","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T08:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=21475"},"modified":"2023-01-27T04:11:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T09:11:09","slug":"locals-rally-against-states-ciba-geigy-settlement-getting-away-with-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2023\/01\/locals-rally-against-states-ciba-geigy-settlement-getting-away-with-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Locals Rally Against State’s Ciba-Geigy Settlement: ‘Getting Away With Murder’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Peter<\/a>

Peter Hibbard, of Ocean County Clean Water, at the \u2018Speak Out\u2019 rally, Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

With a small group of state environmental officials looking on from two rows of seats in the right corner of the room, dozens of elected officials, residents and environmental advocates blasted a state proposal to settle claims<\/a> related Ciba-Geigy Superfund site in Toms River, the cause of monumental environmental damage and a deadly cancer cluster.<\/p>\n

The rallying cries to oppose the settlement, which would consist of turning about 1,000 acres of contaminated land into a public park and museum, were driven as much by anger over what one environmentalist called a \u201ccloud of secrecy\u201d as the lack of financial repercussions for BASF, the German chemical conglomerate that inherited Ciba-Geigy\u2019s liability for the site. The state announced the settlement proposal in a press release in December, but never sought input from local officials<\/a>, notified them of the proposal, nor were any public meetings held on the settlement pact.<\/p>\n

\u201cToms River is known for two things \u2013 the 1998 Little League World Series championship team, and the book, \u2018Toms River<\/a>,\u2019 about the largest Superfund site in America,\u201d said Mayor Maurice \u201cMo\u201d Hill, looking toward the state officials gathered to the side. \u201cThey chose to poison us for greed and corporate profits. The deal you have negotiated lets them get away with it again \u2013 get away with murder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Ciba-Geigi site in Toms River, N.J., Jan. 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Britta<\/a>

Britta Forsberg-Wenzel, Save Barnegat Bay, at the \u2018Speak Out\u2019 rally, Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hill called opposing the settlement a \u201cDavid versus Goliath\u201d fight, and implored the state to be \u201con the side of David.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBASF, like Ciba, is playing us and the NJDEP with this settlement,\u201d Hill said, referencing the millions of dollars Toms River taxpayers handed over to BASF after the company won a tax appeal after representing the contaminated property as being functionally worthless. Still, the settlement forged between the corporation and the state would allow BASF to retain ownership of about 250 acres of land that, conceivably, could be developed commercially.<\/p>\n

Toms River Councilman Dan Rodrick, a political opponent of Hill, has suggested using eminent domain to take the 250 acres from BASF using the same figures the company proffered in court. Hill has publicly stated that he opposes any development at the site.<\/p>\n

Peter Hibbard, a luminary in the fight against what many see as staggering corporate malfeasance at the site, excoriated the settlement proposal, stating that portions even beyond the 1,300 acres within the Superfund zone remain contaminated.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A crowd gathers at Toms River High School North at a \u2018Speak Out\u2019 forum on the Ciba-Geigy settlement, Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis agreement was negotiated under a cloud of secrecy,\u201d said Hibbard, who serves as president of Ocean County Citizens for Clean Water. \u201cThis is unacceptable in a democracy. The people have concerns that should have been addressed up front, and they should have a chance to plan what it happening in their own community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill has proposed that in addition to preserving the 1,000 acres from future development, the state modify the settlement to transfer ownership of the remaining 250 acres to the township and establish a fund to compensate victims of the environmental damage, including potential future victims. He has also proposed that any museum or informational building feature exhibits on the cancer cluster and local residents who suffered from its effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not accept a potential environmental disaster because state officials did not consult with the experts who live here,\u201d said Hibbard. \u201cWhy were the citizens of this community excluded?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ciba-Geigy began its existence of the Toms River Chemical Company, which manufactured dyes at the plant, located west of the Garden State Parkway, off Oak Ridge Parkway. The company was sold and merged on several occasions over the decades, and in 1996, a merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy created Novartis, from which Ciba was spun off. Ciba ultimately merged with BASF in 2008.<\/p>\n

The company was found to be responsible for myriad environmental damage, including the pumping of toxic chemicals into both the Toms River and the Atlantic Ocean through a submarine outfall pipe. The company has been accused of deliberately contaminating the Toms River because the cedar-colored water would have been able to mask the color of pollutants. The outfall pipe system was used as a profit-making opportunity as well, with 29 entities \u2013 including the federal government \u2013 sending waste to be disposed of. Ultimately, toxins reached groundwater supplies and a contamination plume formed, resulting in higher than normal rates of cancer and other conditions among otherwise-healthy people in Toms River.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An aerial view of the former Ciba-Geigy chemical site, Toms River, N.J., Dec. 5, 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"An<\/a>

An aerial view of the former Ciba-Geigy chemical site, Toms River, N.J., Dec. 5, 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAs a child, I grew up here while our land was being polluted,\u201d said Christine Girtain, a science teacher from Toms River who was recently named New Jersey Teacher of the Year. \u201cMy students don\u2019t know about Ciba-Geigy. Some of them are now reading the Toms River book as part of their research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Girtain said that when she was a child, her class entered a poster contest to raise awareness about endangered species. Her teacher had the class draw themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I sat there and I looked at that [settlement] plan \u2026 how could that be all that is there, for all that\u2019s gone on?\u201d she said. \u201cI hope they use this opportunity to make a stand, make a change, do something that hasn\u2019t been done before. They have a chance to turn this around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got sick, and we couldn\u2019t figure out why we got sick,\u201d said Kenny Andersch, who grew up on the banks of the river before moving to the Ortley Beach section and founding the popular Ortley Stone and Gravel business. \u201cI didn\u2019t know they had an outfall pipe there that was causing all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wayne Dinsmore, a retired U.S. Navy officer, offered his own tragic story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI retired from the Navy at Lakehurst, and I brought my family here and settled in Toms River because they had the best schools,\u201d he said. \u201cI settled one mile from Ciba-Geigy, as the crow flies. We enjoyed living there, and in about four years my wife was pregnant. He [our son] lasted only a few minutes after he was born. A few years later, my wife died of cancer. \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven considering letting people come onto this property is insane,\u201d said Barry Bendar, a longtime environmental advocate from Lacey Township.<\/p>\n

The administration of Gov. Phil Murphy has been criticized over the settlement, with some questioning the motives behind the comparatively light penalties it imposes on BASF. Murphy previous served as ambassador to Germany, and has openly advocated for New Jersey to become more business-friendly toward German corporations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection did not schedule any meetings or public forums on the proposal, which prompted Save Barnegat Bay, a local group, to host the \u201cSpeak Out\u201d event this week. The state is accepting only written comments from the public, however speakers at the event were asked to fill out information cards so their statements could be attributed to them and sent to Trenton. New Jersey officials agreed to extent a 30-day public comment period \u2013 announced shortly before the Christmas holiday, and contrary to the normal policy of a 60-day period \u2013 to Feb. 3, however some have shared concerns that the extension was never published in the state register.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis nightmare is not over,\u201d said Hill, with a nod toward the DEP officials. \u201cHad Toms River been invited to participate in your discussions, instead of ignored, we would not be here tonight. This is a David versus Goliath fight, and it\u2019s time for the DEP to stand with David.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the settlement, it is expected that ongoing cleanup and remediation efforts at the site are more than 30 to 40 years away from completion.<\/p>\n

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With a small group of state environmental officials looking on from two rows of seats in the right corner of the room, dozens of elected officials, residents and environmental advocates blasted a state proposal to settle claims related Ciba-Geigy Superfund site in Toms River, the cause of monumental environmental damage and a deadly cancer cluster. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Locals Rally Against State's Ciba-Geigy Settlement: 'Getting Away With Murder'","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,20],"tags":[24,3799,4484],"class_list":["post-21475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ocean-county","category-shore-environment","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-ciba-geigy","tag-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ciba_speak_out_866-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-5An","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}