{"id":22595,"date":"2023-08-10T02:52:48","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T06:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=22595"},"modified":"2023-08-10T05:53:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T09:53:43","slug":"public-meeting-will-shed-light-on-ciba-geigy-property-damages-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2023\/08\/public-meeting-will-shed-light-on-ciba-geigy-property-damages-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Meeting Will Shed Light on Ciba-Geigy Property Damages Update"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script id=\"71519e959a0a47919d6bf6465f942e43\">(new Image()).src = 'https:\/\/capi.connatix.com\/tr\/si?token=e6ca17a0-9f6c-402e-8f17-7db2585f0eb0&cid=209cb62d-f20d-41b1-885d-a317d66dc464';  cnx.cmd.push(function() {    cnx({      playerId: \"e6ca17a0-9f6c-402e-8f17-7db2585f0eb0\",      mediaId: \"a8f8b1a8-3a6c-4fd9-a2d8-d7231a16048d\"    }).render(\"71519e959a0a47919d6bf6465f942e43\");  });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The state Department of Environmental protection is updating the Natural Resources Damages (NRD) proposal in its impending settlement for the Ciba-Geigy property, which has drawn a major rebuke from local officials, environmental advocates and some residents. The details of the potential updates to the proposal were not available, however Save Barnegat Bay is planning a public meeting next week to provide insight into what has been occurring behind the scenes over the last several months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSave Barnegat Bay has been quiet lately when it comes to updates on the DEP\u2019s proposed settlement with BASF, the current owners of the Ciba-Geigy Superfund site, and there\u2019s a reason for it,\u201d the organization plainly stated via social media earlier this week.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8616\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ciba_geigy_tanks_site_aerial_2023_891-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8616\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8616\" src=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ciba_geigy_tanks_site_aerial_2023_891-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"The Ciba-Geigy site in Toms River, N.J., Feb. 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Ciba-Geigy site in Toms River, N.J., Feb. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_8617\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ciba_geigy_tanks_site_aerial_2023_892-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8617\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8617\" src=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ciba_geigy_tanks_site_aerial_2023_892-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"The Ciba-Geigy site in Toms River, N.J., Feb. 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8617\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Ciba-Geigy site in Toms River, N.J., Feb. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The organization followed up with a lengthier statement, indicating that the state\u2019s proposed settlement is insufficient compared to others across the nation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe final chapter of this superfund site is one of Natural Resource Damage assessments, essentially placing a dollar amount on the damage done to our environment, and the number offered isn\u2019t close to enough,\u201d SBB said.<\/p>\n<p>Toms River officials encouraged as many residents as possible to attend the upcoming meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re going to bring experts in to discuss the damages and ongoing damages to done to our community by the Ciba-Geigy property,\u201d said Toms River Township Council President Matthew Lotano. \u201cIt\u2019s important we get a lot of people here to show support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The meeting will be held Thursday, Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at the Toms River Township municipal complex.<\/p>\n<p>The latest NRD proposal published by the DEP <a href=\"https:\/\/dep.nj.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/dep-ao-2023-08-natural-resource-restoration-policy.pdf\">was issued in March<\/a>. Since then, the proposal has garnered staunch public opposition, claims of political favor for BASF, and concerns that ongoing damage caused by the environmental disaster at the former dye-making facility may never be recognized or its victims compensated.<\/p>\n<p>A settlement proposal, announced in December 2022, would place a conservation easement upon 1,000 acres of the approximately 1,250 acre site where Ciba-Geigy manufactured chemical dyes for decades, ultimately contaminating the surrounding area, polluting local waterways and creating a 552-acre toxic plume that was linked to elevated rates of cancer and other medical consequences for Toms River residents. Under the settlement, BASF <a href=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/2023\/01\/residents-rally-against-states-ciba-geigy-settlement-getting-away-with-murder\/\">would not be subject to any monetary penalties<\/a> or punitive damages, and would retain about 250 acres that could be developed for profit. The details of the settlement enraged some local officials who said they were locked out of the settlement talks and, in some cases, surmised that political ties between the Murphy administration and the German business community may have led to the proposal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8618\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ciba_geigy_tanks_site_aerial_2023_893-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8618\" class=\"size-large wp-image-8618\" src=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ciba_geigy_tanks_site_aerial_2023_893-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"The Ciba-Geigy site in Toms River, N.J., Feb. 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8618\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Ciba-Geigy site in Toms River, N.J., Feb. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It was ultimately revealed that BASF <a href=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/2023\/03\/dep-officials-basf-approached-state-with-ciba-geigy-deal-land-favored-over-cash\/\">approached the state<\/a> with an offer to settle the matter. Toms River has since passed a local ordinance that would <a href=\"https:\/\/tomsriver.shorebeat.com\/2023\/03\/toms-river-approves-ban-on-environmental-easements-in-industrial-zones-amidst-ciba-geigy-controversy\/\">ban conservation easements<\/a> from being placed in certain industrial zones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been combing through thousands of files and consulting with the top experts on NRD settlements to help get our community the truth and justice it deserves,\u201d SBB said in a statement. \u201cThe final chapter of this environmental tragedy hasn\u2019t been written yet, and there is still time for you to help us change the outcome for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement from SBB went on to say: \u201cThe DEP has deemed that the loss of life and the impact of the countless others who have gotten sick due to the toxins from Ciba-Geigy are not up for discussion.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fcbkbttn_buttons_block\" id=\"fcbkbttn_left\"><div class=\"fb-share-button fcbkbttn_large_button \" data-href=\"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2023\/08\/public-meeting-will-shed-light-on-ciba-geigy-property-damages-update\/\" data-type=\"button_count\" data-size=\"large\"><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The state Department of Environmental protection is updating the Natural Resources Damages (NRD) proposal in its impending settlement for the Ciba-Geigy property, which has drawn a major rebuke from local officials, environmental advocates and some residents. The details of the potential updates to the proposal were not available, however Save Barnegat Bay is planning a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21403,"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":"","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-22595","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\/dji_fly_20230112_162626_941_1673559001766_photo_optimized-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-5Sr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22595","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=22595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}