Jersey Shore town sues to overturn toxic waste settlement where childhood cancer cases rose

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A Jersey Shore town where childhood cancer cases rose is trying to overturn a settlement between the state and the corporate successor to the company that dumped toxic waste into the water and ground for decades, turning part of the community into one of America's worst pollution cleanup sites.

Toms River and the environmental group Save Barnegat Bay are suing in state appellate court to overturn a settlement reached in August between the state and German chemical company BASF over decades of environmental damage in and around the former Ciba-Geigy chemical plant.

That location, along a lazy river leading into Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, remains one of the nation's most notorious pollution sites, included on the list of ongoing cleanups being done under the federal Superfund law to tackle the worst such cases.

BASF is the corporate successor to Ciba-Geigy.

The town and the group called the settlement “woefully inadequate,” saying restoration projects should be undertaken throughout Toms River and nearby communities. Although it is slowly shrinking, a plume of contaminated water remains beneath the ground in parts of Toms River, and federal authorities can give no estimate of when the cleanup, which began in the 1990s, will be completed.

“The sweetheart deal that NJDEP made with BASF is woefully inadequate and does not compensate the people of Toms River and Ocean County for the damage that has been done to our environment by the corporate polluters,” said Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill, Jr.

The appeal was filed Sept. 28 and announced by the plaintiffs Tuesday night.

The settlement with BASF includes a $500,000 cash payment from the...