In a proposed federal consent decree announced March 19 with U.S. and New Jersey officials, Ford Motor Co. and Ringwood, NJ, have agreed to a $3.4 million final phase Superfund cleanup of a 500-acre abandoned mine in the city used as a toxic waste dump in the 1960s and by the Mah’wah mega-mills of the 1970s.
The plant, which closed in 1980 after producing nearly six million vehicles, had at the time been one of the largest vehicle assembly plants in the United States. The dump, one of several iron ore mines that operated in the state until the late 1800s, was added to the Superfund list in 1983, removed a decade later and returned in 2006 after more contamination was identified.
According to the US Department of Justice, several waterways drain the site and flow into Wanaque Reservoir, a key state drinking water source. After a $21.2 million cleanup order in 2020, the site was deemed safe. But a New York University Langone Health study last year said it remained a public health risk.
The new cleanup addresses benzene, dioxane and lead contamination in groundwater and mine water, Justice said.
The proposed decree also covers reimbursements to the state and the US Environmental Protection Agency for past remediation costs, without those entities having to file further lawsuits against the company and the city.
The settlement includes a 60-day public comment period and requires court approval.
