Wolfe To DEC: Remove Toxic Paint Sludge Dumped by Ford Motor Co.

New City, NY  (March 19, 2014) – Rockland County Legislature Chairman Alden H. Wolfe recently presented comments at a public meeting held by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regarding its proposal to remediate highly toxic paint sludge dumped in Hillburn more than thirty years ago by the Ford Motor Company.  The DEC held the meeting at the Suffern Library to inform the public about the remedies to address the contamination from the sludge that was dumped along the Ramapo River and on an expanse of land in Rockland County. Ford operated an auto assembly plant in Mahwah, New Jersey, just south of the county border, from 1955 to plant closure in 1980. 

The Hillburn site is the second of three new sites in the Town of Ramapo that Ford was ordered to remediate.  The DEC and its consulting firm, Environmental Quality Inc. have reported that a thorough remediation of the first site in the Torne Valley was accomplished.

Chairman Wolfe’s comments (full text follows) included a request that the remediation proposed for the Hillburn site is equally as comprehensive as in the Torne Valley, that the final action plan include the Town of Ramapo as a party to the approval process; that all backfill be fresh and not from a remediated source and that an up-to-date assessment of the Torne Brook flood plain is conducted before the commencement of further remediation.

Chairman Wolfe will submit a detailed written statement to the DEC during the public comment period that runs through March 30, 2014.  Members of the public can view the projects documents at the Finkelstein Memorial Library or Hillburn Village Hall.  For details on how to submit comments to the DEC, email derweb@gw.dec.state.ny.us and use subject key words “Ramapo Paint Sludge site (Hillburn)”.

(See Full Text of Chairman Wolfe’s Comment to the DEC/Division of Environmental Remediation)

COMMENTS BY ALDEN H. WOLFE

CHAIRMAN, ROCKLAND COUNTY LEGISLATURE

DEC PUBLIC COMMENT SESSION ON REMEDIATION OF OU-2

March 12, 2014

Good evening, I’m Alden Wolfe, Chairman of the Rockland County Legislature.

I thank the DEC for arranging this public meeting to give our community an opportunity to tell you firsthand how the dumping of toxic paint sludge has impacted all of us who live here in Rockland County.  For us, this is personal.  The next site to be remediated after OU 2 is OU 3.  I know that site by another name: Camp Hill Day Camp. As a camper during my childhood, I had no idea that when I was splashing around in the stream chasing crawfish, that sediment in the streambed was laced with carcinogenic volatile organic compounds. Those compounds were also at the bottom of the lake where we boated and in the ground where we played.

I’m not here to reminisce about my childhood.  I’m here to caution that anything but the most thorough cleanup of the entire area is unacceptable.  Complete removal of all toxic remnants is the only way to ensure the health and safety of those who live here now—and of the future generations who will have no clue that deadly compounds lurk in the water and in the soil.  Just as I an eleven-year-old camper had no clue—nor did anyone else – that the camp sat on a highly contaminated dump site. We can’t turn back the clock and prevent the tragically high rates of cancer among those who have hunted, fished and foraged on these lands, particularly members of the Ramapough Lenape nation. I’m aware that we have no conclusive scientific studies, but from my perspective, the level of catastrophic illness among those who have had consistent exposure to areas where the illegal dumping took place—is no mere coincidence.  While we can’t undo the devastating health problems that seem likely to have arisen from exposure to the toxic paint sludge, the DEC can ensure that future generations will be spared.  The only way to accomplish this is by complete remediation of the entire area, with no shortcuts.

I’m pleased that the DEC and Environmental Quality, Inc have done what’s reported to be a thorough remediation of Operable Unit Number 1. I ask that the remediation of Operable Unit 2 and the rest of the remediation thereafter be equally comprehensive. Not a trace of the VOCs nor their toxic byproducts should be present on site on completion of this clean-up.  The proximity of VOCs to vital water sources, from well fields to surface water, requires meticulous remediation without exception, regardless of cost.

I have some specific concerns, which I will describe in more detail in my written comments and will outline briefly tonight.

The Proposed Remedial Action Plan suggests that, “Excavation of paint sludge beyond eight feet (if any) will be completed only to the extent feasible, subject to approval by the Department.” I request that you add the Town of Ramapo, so that the final report reads: by the Department and the Town of Ramapo. In addition, the Town of Ramapo must determine what is meant by the term “feasible.” This word gives me concern, as it appears to provide a rationale to sidestep total remediation.

Next, you refer to bedrock in several places in the proposal. I ask that you define bedrock literally to mean unbroken solid rock, and not the overlay, which in some areas can be soil or rock fragments.

One of my gravest concerns applies to language on page 9 that seems to indicate that any excavated soil that doesn’t contain paint sludge would be, “stockpiled and characterized and then either re-used as backfill on site or disposed of off-site at a permitted facility.” It seems near impossible to determine, without intensive sampling, if the excavated soil could ever be entirely free of paint sludge. I think it’s only fair for the DEC to require that all fill be fresh and uncontaminated, which means the fill cannot originate from any remediated site. This is particularly important given the potency of the VOCs emitted by the paint sludge and the danger of its seepage into Torne Brook and groundwater.

Another concern I have relates to your reference to the flood plain. As we know from the recent spate of drenching, destructive storms, floodplain is a very controversial term. Since a private entity owned the land along the Torne Brook until about 2007 and there hasn’t been a new study of the floodplain—I think the floodplain must be reevaluated; and no remediation should begin until a more accurate, up-to-date assessment has been conducted.

I urge the DEC to continue to require the most exacting standards in order to achieve a complete remediation of this land that is not only a special place to all of us who call this area home, but to the thousands of people who visit the region every year. As you know, this remediation site abuts Harriman State Park, the largest tract of public parkland in our state outside of the Adirondack Park, all the more reason to spare no expense to guarantee full remediation.

A complete remediation would address our serious, legitimate concerns about public health and protection for future generations.

Thank you.

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