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Washington, D.C. --- The Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) informed three New Jersey lawmakers late yesterday that he would conduct an investigation into the agency's cleanup of the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund site in Ringwood.
The request for an investigation was made in March by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to Bill A. Roderick, the Acting Inspector General at the EPA. The Inspector General has the authority to perform audits, evaluations and investigations of EPA and its contractors.
In letters to the three New Jersey lawmakers, Roderick said that he and his staff would focus on five particular concerns that the lawmakers addressed in their March letter. (A COPY OF THE LETTER FOLLOWS.)
- Did EPA provide adequate and proper oversight of the remedial investigation/feasibility study, remedy selection process, and site cleanup in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, guidance, and past Agency practices?
- Was the remedy selected based on complete, thorough, and accurate data collection and analysis that would ensure protection of human health and the environment?
- What changes have occurred or what conditions have been identified that necessitate the re-listing of the site on the NPL, and why were these factors not previously identified or addressed as part of the initial remedial action?
- How effective were Region 2's community relations activities at the Ringwood site?
- Did racial, cultural, or socioeconomic factors at Ringwood have any bearing on timely investigating and remediating environmental concerns at the Ringwood site?
Roderick wrote that he and his staff would issue two separate reports by early 2007. The first addressing the initial cleanup and the EPA's oversight of that cleanup, and the second addressing the issues of community involvement and environmental justice.
"I hope the Inspector General's investigation will show us exactly where and how mistakes were made during the original cleanup process," Pallone said. "It's clear to me and to the citizens of Upper Ringwood that when the site was initially declared clean, EPA was more interested in helping Ford get away with a shoddy cleanup job than in protecting public health. Knowing what went wrong back then will go a long way towards making sure the cleanup gets done right once and for all."
“This is an important milestone for the people of Ringwood, and people who live near Superfund sites throughout the country,” Lautenberg said. “The Ringwood community has been fighting for decades to get this site cleaned up, and they deserve to know why it wasn’t done right in the first place. We hope this investigation will provide answers and lessons to ensure complete cleanup of all Superfund sites in the future.”
“The Ringwood site is a perfect example for why polluters must pay for the damage they do to our environment and our communities,” Menendez said. “While I am pleased that EPA is investigating the clean-up of the Ringwood site, it is unfortunate that we’ve even reached this point. To re-list a Superfund site, after deleting it, raises a multitude of questions. I am hopeful that the EPA investigation will provide some meaningful answers.”
The Acting Inspector General informed the three New Jersey lawmakers that he could not, as they had requested, retain an independent expert as special master to oversee the remainder of the cleanup process.
During the 1960s and 1970s the Ford Motor Company and its contractors dumped automotive paint sludge, car parts and other heavy metal and chemical waste over a large area in Ringwood Borough. The site was listed on Superfund NPL list in 1983, but then was declared clean in 1994 and removed from the list. However, since 1994 EPA has forced Ford to return and conduct additional cleanup four times, and more work is still required. EPA now says it plans to reinstate Ringwood to the Superfund list, which would be the first time a Superfund site has been deleted and subsequently re-listed. |
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