"Nearly 40 self-described Native Americans, local residents, environmental activists, and scientists spoke out in opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest proposal to address contamination in the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund site at a meeting held on Thursday, Nov. 7. More than 130 people attended the almost five-hour assembly, which was held at Ryerson School on Valley Road."
"EPA representatives called the public meeting after releasing the details of the $46.7 million plan in late September, which focuses on three locations within the 500-acre Superfund site: the Peter’s Mine Pit, the Cannon Mine Pit, and the O’Connor Disposal Area.
The Ringwood Mines/Landfill site is in a forested area that includes 50 private homes, abandoned mine shafts and pits, inactive landfills, and open waste dumps. It is home to roughly 150 residents, many of whom are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian community. The Ramapoughs maintain that they have been exposed to a myriad of serious health problems, especially cancer, from exposure to the toxic waste. The site was originally added to the Superfund list of hazardous waste sites in 1983 and subsequently removed from the list in 1994 based on the EPA finding that all appropriate cleanup actions had been undertaken. But in 1995, 1998, and 2004, additional areas of paint sludge were discovered at the site, prompting further action."
Holly Stewart reports for the Bergen Record November 11, 2013.
